Harrington out of BMW - and no wonder

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON’S decision to withdraw from this week’s BMW Championship means that he is unlikely to pick up any of the $35 million bonus money at stake in the new FexEx Series on the US Tour.

Harrington cited “fatigue” as his reason for cutting short his US campaign and it is little wonder. Since his victory in the Open Championship in mid-July, he has been on the go.

He made little impression in the US PGA Championship and came 35th in his first FexEx appearance before missing the cut at the weekend in Boston.

He will now take a few weeks off before taking his place in the British and Irish team in the Seve Trophy against the Continent of Europe at the Heritage, Co Laois, on September 27-30. He then transfers his attentions to retaining his European Tour order of merit title as he takes in lucrative events like the Dunhill Links at St Andrews on October 4-7; the HSBC World Championship at Wentworth on October 11-14, before hopefully rounding off his campaign in the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama in the first week of November. He is currently some 300,000 points ahead of his nearest rival, Justin Rose, with Henrik Stenson in third spot.

Harrington also plans to take in the two-day Grand Slam of Champions alongside Zach Johnson, Angel Cabrera and Tiger Woods in Bermuda on October 15-16. Later in the year, he plays the HSBC Championship in China, defends the Dunlop Phoenix in which he defeated Woods in a play-off last year and, after missing the World Cup because of a new arrival for himself and Caroline, finishes a memorable 2007 in Tiger’s Target Challenge in Los Angeles in December.