Harrington's Major schedule

Padraig Harrington will swap quantity for quality in 2009 as he bids to stay mentally fresh for his assault on the major championships.

The Dubliner reckons he can hit the jackpot by playing just one warm up event before a major instead of the usual two.

Harrington said: “I feel I can build up quicker now for the majors. I don’t need two warm up events."

He will make an exception in August by playing the 3 Irish Open at Killarney and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Akron in the run up to the US PGA at Whistling Straits.

He explained: “The reason I can’t turn up after having the week off is I know I don’t have the discipline to do it. The way I practice is not good preparation. Playing golf stops me from doing the bad practice.”

Even one warm up event can put a spanner in the works, as he discovered last season when he had a major battle with Tiger Woods in the Bridgestone at Firestone before imploding in the following weeks's US PGA by taking a quintuple bogey eight on the par three eighth when he was challenging the leaders.

He said: “I’ve realised after Firestone last year, if you’re going to be in contention, you wouldn’t want two weeks of being in contention going into a Major.

“Even one week in contention has an effect the following week. Having two weeks where you contended wouldn’t be good for the Majors, though, obviously, that’s going to break for the Irish Open.”

Padraig Harrington's 2010 schedule

Feb. 04 - 07 Northern Trust Open, Riviera CC, Pacific Palisades, California Purse: $6,400,000
Feb. 11 - 14 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, California, Monterey Peninsula CC, Pebble Beach, California; Spyglass Hill GC, Pebble Beach, California Purse: $6,200,000
Feb. 17 - 21 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, Ritz-Carlton GC, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona Purse: $8,500,000

Mar. 04 - 07 The Honda Classic. PGA National Champion Course, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Purse: $5,600,000 (or Transitions Championship Mar. 18-21)
Mar. 11 - 14 World Golf Championships-CA Championship, TPC Blue Monster at Doral, Miami, Florida Purse: $8,500,000
Mar. 18 - 21 Transitions Championship, Innisbrook Resort - Copperhead, Palm Harbor, Florida Purse: $5,400,000 (Or Honda Classic Mar 4-7)

Apr. 01 - 04 Shell Houston Open, Redstone GC Tournament Course, Humble, Texas Purse: $5,800,000
Apr. 08 - 11 Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC, Augusta, Georgia Purse: $7,000,000

May 06 - 09 THE PLAYERS Championship, TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Purse: $9,500,000.

May 20-23 BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP, Wentworth Club, Surrey, England €4,500,000

Jun. 10 - 13 St. Jude Classic TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee Purse: $5,600,000
Jun. 17 - 20 U.S. Open Championship, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, California. Purse: $7,500,000
Jun. 24 - 27 Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut. Purse: $6,000,000 (Provisional)

Jul. 5 - 6 JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am, Adare Golf Club, Adare Manor
Jul. 8 - 10 Irish PGA, The Island
Jul. 15 - 18 Open Championship, St. Andrews, (Old Course). Purse: $7,000,000

Jul. 29 - Aug 1 3 Irish Open, Killarney Golf & Fishing Club, Killarney, Co Kerry Purse €3,000,000
Aug. 05 - 08 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational Firestone CC (South Course), Akron, Ohio Purse: $8,500,000
Aug. 12 - 15 PGA Championship Whistling Straits, Kohler, Wisconsin Purse: $7,500,000

FedEx Cup play-offs
Aug. 26 - 29 The Barclays Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus, New Jersey. Purse: $7,500,000
Sep. 03 - 06 Deutsche Bank Championship, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts. Purse: $7,500,000
Sep. 09 - 12 BMW Championship, Cog Hill G&CC, Lemont, Illinois. Purse: $7,500,000
Sep. 23 - 26 THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca Cola, East Lake GC, Atlanta, Georgia. Purse: $7,500,000

Oct. 01 - 03 Ryder Cup, Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales

Nov. 04 - 07 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, CHN Purse: $7,000,000*