BRITISH OPEN FOLLOW-UPThere was a compelling sense of déjà vu about the past fortnight, as John O'Sullivandelineates

TRACING THE genesis of Pádraig Harrington's back-to-back British Open Championships represents an insoluble equation in terms of specifics.

Arriving at a dateline to pinpoint a definitive shift in mental and physical prowess that transformed the 36-year-old Dubliner from genuine contender at the Majors to champion would be purely guesswork.

Alighting on that Damascene moment entails too many intangibles but one aspect of his preparation that has been consistent with his two brilliant victories was where he spent the week prior to the British Open.

In the July of 2007 Harrington decided to play in the Irish PGA Championship at The European Club before travelling to Carnoustie. Earlier this month he retraced that path ahead of the journey to Royal Birkdale.

The symmetry is maintained in terms of not alone success - he won the two tournaments twice - but sundry other peripherals.

On the opening day of the 2007 Irish PGA Championship Harrington lay supine on the ninth fairway performing stretching exercises while waiting to play his second shot to the par four. He had tweaked a hip-flexor muscle, a rather more mundane explanation than the rampant speculation at the time that he had damaged his neck/back or suffered a reaction to recent knee surgery.

A couple of weeks ago he negotiated the Irish PGA Championship without mishap only to damage a wrist when performing a golf-specific exercise on the Saturday night. On both occasions his ability to practice ahead of the British Open was curtailed: slightly in 2007 when he didn't play on the Monday; appreciably in the build-up to Royal Birkdale, where he managed just nine holes and three shots.

Also relevant is that the weather at The European Club was similar each time to that at Carnoustie and Royal Birkdale.

In 2007 there was enough breeze at the Irish event to tax the field mentally and physically; this year the opening days of the Irish PGA Championship and the British Open were marked by torrential rain and strong winds.

It's instructive to examine another similarity that's probably a little more pertinent in reference to this summer's tournaments.

Harrington barely unsheathed his driver at The European Club because the bunkering, the weather and the lush rough combined to place a premium on precision. Instead he hit long irons, hybrids and either three or five woods from the teeing ground.

His expectation was that he would have to employ his driver more frequently over the Southport links, but as last weekend demonstrated, that was not the case: his tee-shot strategy at the European was to be largely replicated at Birkdale.

The wind that buffeted the Wicklow links also provided a timely refresher for Harrington given what he would face the following week.

After the opening day of the Irish PGA, he mused, "It is different. The wind affects the ball. You lose exponentially in distance with your clubbing and it just takes a little bit of time to get used to that again.

"It is mostly about getting yourself comfortable with where you are and picking your targets.

"On a links golf course there are no trees to aim at; it's harder to pick up targets, harder to define the landing areas. The way you shape the ball in the wind can make a difference of 40 yards to your tee shots. It just takes a bit of getting used to; committing to targets and your shots.

"You could be aiming left of the flag and trying to draw the ball. You have got to trust that the wind is going to hold it up. You would probably never see that on a parkland course. There are a lot of things to recommit to."

These comments gain added resonance in the context of the victory at Birkdale.

In 2007 there were also fringe benefits to be gleaned from the week prior to the Major.

Harrington enthused, "You can't beat competing. I could finish 10th in an event and win €150,000 or something like that; it's not as good as finishing first.

"It may only be a smaller purse this week but competing is everything. There's nothing like competing to win. There is a different stress in that.

"It's a much better feeling. I'm trying as hard as I can; I'm nervous playing 18; I'm nervous playing the tie holes. You can't beat that."

Sevens days later he proved he had absorbed an invaluable lesson, when it came to a second successive play-off.

Harrington did not win simply because he prepared at The European Club - to suggest as much would be to risibly diminish the physical and mental prowess associated with his two wins - but the links and the Irish PGA Championship undoubtedly honed his game.

His preparations haven't gone unnoticed. A couple of top Australian golfers are believed to have inquired whether they would be eligible to compete in next year's Irish PGA Championship - they are not unless they play out of an Irish club in the interim.

Graeme McDowell, if he did not have to defend the 2009 Scottish Open, would also have considered tuning up for the British Open at his national tournament.

It's seems logical that Ireland's European tour professionals that qualify for next year's British Open might join Harrington in the Garden of Ireland.

It's not often the sport's fans can get to walk the fairways, literally, with a two-time major winner who enjoys a brilliant rapport with supporters young and old - something one hopes will be acknowledged by increased public support for the Irish PGA Championship (you'd think a sponsor prepared to cover the entire cost of the tournament would jump at this too).

As for The European Club, there is no better place to conduct a golfing NCT.

The venue, the tournament, the winner: just remember the links ahead of Turnberry 2009.