Irish knocking at Open door
They are ranked respectively eighth and 15th in the world but have been unable to justify such exalted status over the past several months.
All will be forgiven and forgotten if either brings the claret jug back to Ireland for the first time since Fred Daly came out on top at Hoylake in 1947.
Harrington is adamant there is every chance of a European win, making the point that more or less half the field are "home" players.
He points to how close Thomas Bjorn went last year, although he becomes a little defensive when discussing his own prospects.
"It's early days for me," claims the 32 year-old Dubliner, who has been the top European in the world for two years.
"I'm quite happy that my game is developing and I'll be patient and bide my time. If I haven't won this tournament on Sunday, I'm not going to feel like the world has ended or my game has fallen apart. It's very difficult to win a major. I wouldn't say I've teed it up in half a dozen that I felt like I was a contender. So it's early days for me yet."
It's not easy to reconcile those words with Harrington's world ranking or that he should have been in the play-off at Muirfield two years ago, or indeed that this is his ninth Open appearance and so shouldn't be short of experience.
Whether he likes it or not, considerable expectation has been placed on him by the Irish golfing public who probably have heard too much of the "patient" talk and demand results.
Unfortunately, his damaged neck is proving a nuisance and sometimes prevents Harrington from making a full swing.
Largely because of his ability to keep the ball down with his powerful iron play and relatively good record in the Open, Darren Clarke is included in many people's list of potential winners, flying in the face of his miserable record in the past few months. It's all about missed cuts or awful finishes (59th in the European Open) and it's not easy to believe it will come right this week.
He gets so down on himself when things aren't going to plan that one suspects he himself believes he cannot finish ahead of the game's finest.
"The best player is going to win this week because the course is in perfect shape," he asserted.
"One of the keys is scoring as well as you can on the first nine. As soon as you stand on the 10th tee and the wind is coming against you, you realise that par is going to be a fantastic score. I've been hitting three irons, four irons on every hole on the back nine barring the 12th, the only one downwind.
"You have to make your score on the front nine."
As Phil Mickelson has said, Clarke has the low ball flight trajectory suited to Open Championship conditions. If he is drilling his irons as well as he can and has some luck on the greens he could be a factor.
That was certainly the case here in '97 when he led by four at one stage, only to be undone by a shanked two iron tee shot at the second. He also shanked a five iron on the way to missing the cut at Loch Lomond last week and that sounds more than a little ominous. You have to wonder whether Clarke has the mental capacity to cope.
Paul McGinley has competed in every Open bar one (1995 at St Andrews) since 1992. He's had his moments, most notably when he holed in one in the second round at Lytham in 1996 to tie for the lead at the halfway stage. He eventually came 14th and that remains his best finish from those 11 starts.
It's a record that doesn't inspire confidence and while Italian Open champion Graeme McDowell, playing in his first Open, is talking up his prospects big time, it would still be a commendable achievement for him to finish in the top 15 and gain an exemption into next year's championship.
Having done so well to qualify for the championship, one can only imagine the excitement of Killarney's Danny Sugrue as he builds up to the biggest day of his life. He goes off shortly before 3.30pm today, unsure of what lies ahead. His caddy, David Whyte from Frankfield, Cork, is also entering the unknown but they will savour every moment.
Having hardly made a button in his four years as a pro, this could be a big payday for Danny, who is assured of £1,750 (€2,622) for teeing it up, while there's another £3,000 (€4,495) if he makes the cut.
That's his aim, as it is for the Donegal amateur Brian McElhinney, here courtesy of his win in last year's European Championship. Since then, he has captured the Irish Close to bolster his confidence.
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