Jet-set lifestyle gives the elite the putting edge

IT would be a tough old station except they travel in luxury, are treated like royalty and then play four days of competitive golf on beautifully manicured courses for a great deal of money.

While you might wonder how people like Miguel-Angel Jimenez and Pádraig Harrington can get from Korea to Hong Kong to California in successive weeks and then play superbly they are looked after and look after themselves in such a fashion that one shouldn’t really be surprised at all they achieve. At the weekend, the 40-year-old Jimenez pipped Harrington for the top prize in the Hong Kong Open. The Spaniard hopped on the plane for this week’s Target World Championship at Sherwood Country Club, Thousand Oaks near Los Angeles €100,000 richer with his fifth title of the year under his belt and a career-best 14th in the world rankings.

Harrington last night admitted to being “disgusted” at his failure to retain his title in Hong Kong, while agreeing the runner-up spot meant he was sure of finishing the year in sixth place in the world and, almost incidentally, €52,287 better off. His frustration is understandable in that he broke 70 in each round, shooting 65, 68, 67 and 67 for 13 under and that still wasn’t enough to stop Jimenez.

In the immediate aftermath of the 25th second place of his career, Harrington bemoaned the putts that got away but subsequently blamed other factors for his downfall.

“I was two under for the round after four holes and one ahead when I got to the 5th tee,” he said.

“I had the honour and so it was my job to clear the hordes of photographers that always follow us in this part of the world. It takes a lot of doing and by the time I had quietened them down, I had lost my focus. The hole cost me a shot and I bogeyed the next as well. All the time, Miguel-Angel sucked on his cigar and let me do all the hard work. If he was up first, it would have been a different matter. That sounds like an excuse and I’m disgusted with myself for letting the photographers get to me. I should be experienced enough to deal with that kind of thing.”

Otherwise, Harrington enjoyed his visits to Korea, Shanghai and Hong Kong and by last night he was back in the familiar surroundings of Sherwood Country Club, the scene of his memorable victory over tournament host Tiger Woods in 2002. He picked up $1 million for that achievement but, just as importantly, proved to himself he was good enough to compete with and beat the best golfers in the world.

In his second appearance in the Target Challenge 12 months ago, Harrington finished third behind Davis Love III, so he has every reason to enjoy an event now offering a total of $5.25m (€3.9m) in prize money, with $1.2m (€894,000) going to the winner.

As he has been highly competitive of late, and several of his 15 rivals have been taking it easy, Harrington must stand an excellent chance of again making a big impression this week.

The world’s top two players, Vijay Singh and Woods, are in the field along with Love, Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk, Chris DiMarco, Chad Campbell, Kenny Perry, Todd Hamilton, Harrington, Jimenez and Stephen Ames from the world rankings, while invitees Jay Haas, Fred Couples, John Daly and Colin Montgomerie complete the elite field.

Down in South Africa, the European Tour continues its activities in far-flung locations. Venue for the 723,490 Dunhill championship is Leopard Creek in Mpumalanga where the German Marcel Siem defends his title from an entry that includes world number three and local hero Ernie Els. The Irish players in the field are Damien McGrane, Peter Lawrie and Stephen Browne. This is the third tournament on the 2005 European Tour schedule with the order of merit being led by Welshman Stephen Dodd, winner of the China Open, with 129,126 points Harrington is best of the Irish on 52,287 for fifth place with McGrane 16th on 14,448.

The Tour then takes a five-week break before resuming with the South African Open in Durban on January 20-23. The Challenge Tour also goes into hibernation after the Peru Open starting on Thursday, with Irishmen David Higgins, Michael Hoey, Colm Moriarty, Tim Rice and Raymond Burns involved. Hoey finished third in the Panama Open at the weekend, picking up a tidy €10,535.