Pack leader Padraig Harrington expects the underdogs to chase Tiger Woods off the Open title trail at Muirfield this week.

And the Dubliner believes that he could be the kind of player to lead the chase as the big name stars continue to run from the Tiger.

"I would always consider myself as the one who was the underdog trying to catch up," he said. "It has never been easy for me. All the way up there were always guys with more talent than me or better players and I always had to work a little bit harder to overcome that."

Harrington believes that playing second fiddle to Woods doesn't suit the big names like Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie or Phil Mickelson after a lifetime as the top dogs.

Said Harrington: "The guys that beat Tiger in the past are the guys who have grown up as underdogs. Obviously it's tougher for guys that have been used to being the top dog and then have the role reversed when they come up against Tiger.'

He added: "Players that are used to coming up against the bigger name stars have a better chance of beating Tiger. To them he is just another one of those bigger name stars.

"But the big names are not used to that situation where there is somebody better than them or they perceive as better than them in the field.

"There are a lot of players who have been champions through their amateur and pro career and have always turned up being the favourite. But the roles are reversed now that Tiger is here and that's putting a little bit of pressure on them.

"I'm not saying they are backing off but maybe they are thinking in a different way and trying to push too hard. It's just tougher on them and something they never experienced when they were growing up."

Although the Dubliner is ranked 10th in the world, making him Europe's highest ranked player after Sergio Garcia, he has so far failed to get used to the limelight. But he's happy that way.

"Whether it's an Ernie Els or Tiger Woods ahead of me on the final day I would still be the underdog trying to catch him so it would not make a great difference who it is," he confessed.

"It's a great sort of feeling going out there. If Ernie is playing well he is the best player in the world. What's the difference if Tiger is playing well."

Harrington's main problem is not Tiger Woods but the 7034 yards of links terrain and 152 bunkers that have to be negotiated.

Muirfield has a par of 71 but with knee high rough lining the fairways, it will take bravery or desperation to force Harrington to abandon his usually cautious approach and attack the course

"The guy who chooses the right shots off the tees and holes a few putts is going to win. This week I think there will be a lot of people in the field, if things go their way, that will have a chance and I expect a reasonable bunch at the end of the week going into the back nine," he said.

Fifth in the US Masters and eighth in the US Open at Bethpage last month, Harrington is making a habit of challenging in the Majors this season.

Now he hopes to keep up the challenge over all four rounds after faltering at the weekend in his last two attempts .

"Yes, I need to keep it going all the way through. It's a question of extending it and keeping it going for 72 holes. At the Masters and the US Open there is always confidence after being there or thereabouts all week.

"I was in the top ten all week in both tournaments and always on the leaderboard. Obviously I wasn't thinking about winning but I was leading after 27 holes at Augusta. It's not a trial run but it's nice to get into that position and stay in it. You gain with experience and learn the next time you get into that position not to back off and to keep going."

Despite his upbeat mood, Muirfield remains a mystery for Harrington and has yet to come up with a plan of attack for the week.

Heavy rain softened up the course yesterday and the scoring could be low if the wind fails to make an appearance.

Said Harrington: "I haven't quite figured out the golf course. You go to the US Open and know it's all patience. It's all about playing the same shot over and over again. You are trying to hit fairways an the middle of greens and it's just patience, patience, patience.

"Here I haven't quite figured out what's going to make the winner win this week. Is it that he plays superb, consistent golf or is it that he's playing exciting golf, hitting driver and making birdies?

"You can go in bunkers and get a decent lie and get up and down or get stuck under the face and it's a double bogey straight away.

"Maybe I have to accept making a few mistakes. I don't see anybody avoiding all the trouble all the time. The bunkers are tiny so if you do go into them you don't have a normal bunker shot. Keeping out of those bunkers is the main thing.

" A lot of times you go onto a links course and ride your luck but on this golf course can reward somebody who an hit the middle of the fairway and the middle of the greens without doing anything spectacular. That sort of golfer can do well this week and that's why I think there will be a lot of guys in contention at the end of this week."

Part of Harrington's problem is the fact that he is now more of an American style player than ever after changing his swing to hit a higher ball.

"I've gone soft with all this target golf," he joked. "I used to hit the ball low and then I started hitting it high to play better in the US Majors. Now I have struggled to take the ball flight down a bit for links golf.

"I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable hitting the shots I hit as an amateur. I would have played any wind shot ten years ago but now if the wind really gets up we will all struggle."

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© Brian Keogh 2002

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