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Harrington harbours Major ambitions
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Harrington harbours Major ambitions

Padraig Harrington expects to win more Majors in his career and is looking to build towards that goal at the Volvo Golf Champions.

 Padraig Harrington

"That's a big, strong word, but I do - yeah," the 40 year old Irishman said at Fancourt in South Africa, where he plays his first event of the 2012 Race to Dubai.

"I didn't have a great year last year, but it doesn't worry me in the greater scheme of things because I know you just can't win them every year.

"You have to sit there and be patient and wait for your turn - and, like 2007 and 2008, they all come at once."

Three years ago Harrington became the first European since 1906 to make a successful defence of The Open, then a month later became the first European to win the US PGA Championship since 1930.

Last season, though, the best he did in the Majors was 45th at the US Open and missed cuts at the Masters Tournament and Open Championship contributed to him slipping to 89th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

"When you look at Nick Faldo it took him 20-25 years (as a professional) to win six - the most by any European (of modern times).

"I'm not foolish to believe that because I won one in 2007 and two in 2008 I should win three in 2009, or even another one.

"They don't come around that easy. Even in my era the greatest player since I've been a pro - Tiger Woods - has not won one a year. There have been plenty of years he has not won any.

"People have this idea that just because you play well and you win one you should be doing that every year.

"That's the hardest thing. It definitely puts a big burden on anybody who wins a Major, it really does. There's a lot of expectation that goes with it."

Now 15 months on from his last tournament victory, Harrington has done a lot of analysing things and still took positives out of last season.

"I sorted out a neck injury that plagued me for ten years, then found something in my mental game and got to the bottom of something in my swing which had been annoying me for five years.

"But the reality is that we are judged by our results - I certainly do when I watch people playing sports - and I have to accept that results last year were poor."

What he must have found particularly disappointing on realising it was that on the US PGA Tour in America he went backwards in every final round, whereas in 2008 he had gone forward every time.

With the world's top four of Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer all deciding not to play - they along with Woods start in Abu Dhabi next week - this week is a golden opportunity for him to stop the slide and start climbing again.

A field restricted to European Tour winners since the start of last season and those with ten or more titles on the circuit is 35 strong.

With the Ryder Cup in mind as much as anything else, Harrington desperately wants to be back in the world's top 64 for next month's World Golf Championship - Accenture Match Play and the top 50 for the Cadillac Championship in Miami two weeks later.

A win on Sunday will achieve the first of those, although the cut-off point for Tucson is not for another three weeks.

Defending champion Paul Casey is absent, having dislocated his shoulder snowboarding.

Masters Tournament champion Charl Schwartzel is taking part, as is Open Champion Darren Clarke, three-Major winner Ernie Els and past and present Ryder Cup Captains Colin Montgomerie and José María Olazábal.

Schwartzel is looking to bounce back from a missed cut at last week’s Joburg Open, where he won in 2010 and 2011.

“I feel like I played pretty decent,” he said. “I only missed four greens in 36 holes, and I’m just trying to get the ball in the hole. The way golf goes, I feel better than last week - I played really good today. Hopefully I can get some putts going in and gain some real confidence.”

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