Harrington prepared to be patient

Padraig Harrington insists that the changes he is making on his swing will make him an even better player.

The Dubliner, 37, has produced some horror film golf this season and failed to record even one top-10 finish in the US following his double major winning performances last year.

But he explained that the nightmare run of double, triple and quadruple bogeys that have forced his fans to watch from behind the sofa in recent months are a result of swing re-building rather than bad form.

Set to tee it up in the $9.5 million Players Championship at scary Sawgrass this week, he said: “Results-wise, things haven't been exactly what I wanted so far this year. But I'm not trying to play as well as I played last year to win the two majors. I'm trying to play better than that.

“To get better and move forward, you work on your weaknesses. And when you're working on your weaknesses, sometimes your strengths get a little weak, and that's what's happened to me at the moment.”

Harrington missed his third cut of the season at Quail Hollow last week when he went triple bogey-double bogey at the end of his first round and then opened with two more doubles the following day. He also had a nine and a seven at Augusta National.

But he explained: “I'm more focused on the technical side of things than the scoring side of things and that's probably where some of these blips are coming on.

“I'm playing plenty of good golf at times but not keeping it going all the time, because my mental game and my short game are not quite as sharp as they have been other times.”

The temptation to stop tinkering with his swing his huge, especially when couriers turn up at his house with packages and start asking what’s wrong with his game.

But he has no plans to write the season off as a total loss and believes he will be ready to challenge for the US Open at Bethpage in six weeks’ time.

He said: “The postman is a big fan. But the odd time I get the delivery man turning up and saying, ‘What happened to you last week, you're not playing very well?’

“And that's valid. That's what I would do if I was looking at a soccer player. But I'm not trying to play like I played last year. I'm trying to play better than that.

“I know the way I played last year was good enough to win major golf, but I don't think I could play unless I was trying to get better.

“There are periods where when you say, to hell with becoming a better player, let's go for the short-term results.

“Barring results, I'm fully convinced that I'm going on the right track, and everything is on track and going well. I'm not writing off this year or anything like that. I'm still very hopeful that I'll be in top form for the U.S. Open.”

World No 1 Tiger Woods was frustrated by his failure to win the Masters or the Quail Hollow Championship.

But he's prepared to be patient after his sixth month lay-off and confessed he was tickled by Ulster-born CBS star David Feherty, who jokingly asked him if he felt like “a loser” after finishing only fourth at Quail Hollow.

Woods said: “I know David has been a good friend of mine over the years, and I know what he was trying to say, but it didn't come across that way. I thought it was actually pretty funny. It was good.”