Padraig Harrington wants to be King of Europe – but first he has to take on the World.

The Dubliner will battle his inner demons when the takes on Mike Weir in the first round of the Cisco World Matchplay championship today.

But his mind will be on the race to become the first Irishman to win the Order of Merit since Ronan Rafferty in 1989.

"It’s a bit of a distraction from the Order of Merit,” he admitted. “I suppose I’ll look forward to the matchplay only when it actually gets going.”

But the Dubliner confessed that he still has nightmares about his collapse against Ian Woosnam in the final last year when he was three up with 12 holes to play but lost by two and one.

“I was really, really, really devastated," said Harrington. “It felt like I had choked and I looked like I had choked.

"It wasn't so much that I lost, rather that at the time I didn't know why I had lost. It was only when I sat back and figured out what had occurred, and realised that I had lost concentration mentally because I hadn't eaten properly, that I could accept it.”

It was a bitter pill for Harrington to swallow after seven runners-up places last season.

But now he’s looking forward to getting a second bite of the cherry in his fourth appearance in the event against Canadian Weir before he bids for the Order of Merit title.

Following three top ten finishes in the Majors, his brilliant Ryder Cup form and that play – off win in the Dunhill Links at St Andrews, Harrington is focussed on winning the Order of Merit.

“The main thing is that I am right for those end-of-season tournaments that determine who wins the money list,” he said.

"The most important thing is that I do well in the Volvo Masters. It has three times as much money as any of the others.”

Harrington will play in the Madrid Open next week but has yet to decide if he will also compete in the Italian Open before heading for the decisive big money Volvo Masters at Valderrama from November 7 – 10.

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© Brian Keogh 2002

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