Irish Open:So, this is what it is like to be a wanted man, to be Europe's top golfer. Kerching! Bank of Ireland come in as your latest blue-chip sponsor (prominently placed over the heart, please note); every child and mammy outside the ropes wants a photograph, or two; and grown men - pretending it's for the grandchild - queue up to get your signature. No pressure, really.
Politicians on the hustings would love to be as popular as Padraig Harrington. Yesterday, on pro-am day, he couldn't move between shots but a request of one kind or another was foisted on him; and, mostly, he obliged. Today, though, the serious business starts.
Outwardly, the smile may be there; but, inside, the drive that has taken the Dubliner to among golf's very elite will see him attempt to end that age-old curse whereby no Irish player has won the Irish Open since John O'Leary in 1982.
Sure, much has been made of the absence of so many players you'd expect to see at the Irish Open. The date in the calendar, slotted in between The Players and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, is not conducive to attracting all of the top tier and, indeed, just two of the world's top 50 - Harrington (12th) and Lee Westwood (48th) - are playing here, and just two players in action in last week's Players - Harrington and the former US Open champion Michael Campbell - have travelled.
But there is strength in depth, on a tour that is breeding a generation of new champions. And while the €2.5-million tournament - with a record €416,660 to the winner and a host of other incentives, including a house for a hole-in-one - may not have attracted the game's true superstars, there is quality which is reflected in the fact that 14 players ranked between 50 and 100 in the world are competing.
Thomas Bjorn, though, made a salient point yesterday: "When it comes down to it, the most important player of all is here." He was referring, of course, to Harrington.
Harrington is one of 17 Irish players in the field, but he is more than that. He is Europe's number one. Back in the summer of 2005, he won the JP McManus pro-am on this course, shooting a 63 one of the days. This time, there will be no 63s. The course has been lengthened considerably, with 10 new tees and some 300 yards added to stretch it to 7,453 yards, making it the longest course in the history of the Irish Open, although, with the forecast of tough weather, the strong likelihood is the tournament director will move up a number of tees.
"It's up to him how the course plays. The longer it plays, the more it suits me but, in these conditions, it is definitely a mental test," said Harrington. "With experience, I know that we're not going to be falling off the back of the tee boxes here."
The conditioning of the course has been receiving rave reviews from players in the locker-room, although there is some trepidation about its severity.
"US Open length . . . US Open-style greens . . . super-thick rough . . . if it blows, it is going to be a seriously difficult golf course," claimed Graeme McDowell.
Moving some tees forward will, undoubtedly, lessen its severity. But it will still demand a player very much on his game to triumph, and the form player in that regard is England's Lee Westwood, who captured the Andalucia Open - admittedly, in very different conditions - last weekend.
Westwood is not the only winner on the European Tour this season in the field, there are eight others: Yang Yong-eun (HSBC Champions), Ariel Canete (Joburg Open), Peter Hedblom (Malaysian Open), Mikko Ilonen (Indonesian Open), Anton Haig (Johnnie Walker Classic), Daniel Vancsik (Madeira Island Open), Markus Brier (China Open) and Raphael Jacquelin (Asian Open).
In contrast, Harrington - the last Irishman to win on tour - has not won on the European Tour since last October, when he claimed the Dunhill Links (he also won the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan last November).
On top of that, no Irishman has won the Irish Open since O'Leary, all of 25 years ago. It's a long gap, and one of which Harrington - and the other Irish tour players - are very conscious.
"Pressure. Distractions. Expectations. Just the fact that people want an Irish winner puts more pressure on you . . . it's not like I or any of my fellow Irish pros are good enough to say we're going to turn up and have our A-game. There's still a little bit of hit-and-miss. We put the Irish Open up there on a pedestal, so there is obviously a little bit more stress and pressure . . . (but) I'm getting use to it," said Harrington.
The question of why no Irishman has won this tournament in so long has also puzzled McDowell.
"I can't understand it, it's not asking a lot for an Irishman to win in Ireland. It is very tough to put your finger on what the problem is," he said.
So, what type of player will win on this tough, beautifully conditioned track with its narrow fairways and deep rough?
"Someone who hits it long, straight," responded McDowell. "Someone who is good with their irons. Someone who can chip and putt well. Whoever wins this week will have to have every facet of their game in decent shape. It's going to take a Harrington-style player this week, a real grinder, a scrambler, someone who is mentally tough. Someone like him."
So, no pressure, Padraig!
First round On Television: RTÉ One and Sky Sports 1 (from 10am).
