Harrington just another high Roller in Indiana

Like Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington is trying to put it all together again. Padraig Harrington is well used to getting five-star treatment at every event he plays but even the three-time major winner was impressed to find an extra special courtesy car waiting for him in Carmel in Indiana on Monday evening.

“This week my courtesy car is a Rolls Royce Ghost,” Harrington wrote on his blog. “I have been getting some great looks when I pull up at lights and restaurants, especially as Ronan insists on sitting in the back seat so that it looks like I am chauffeuring him around.”

At least Harrington and faithful caddie haven’t lost their sense of humour during what has been a frustrating season in terms of results.

Graeme McDowell tweeted this picture of his Rolls Royce courtesy car.Denied a Ryder Cup wildcard by Jose Maria Olazabal, the Dubliner’s immediate priority is to win again and get back into the world’s top 50.

While he could need a top three finish in the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick this week to make the Tour Championship for the first time since 2009 and keep his FedEx Cup hopes alive, he believes a top five finish may be enough to secure his place in Atlanta. (Projected FedEx Cup points)

But that’s a result he has achieved just twice in the last two years - in the US Open in June (4th) and the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia last November, where he finished third in his defence of his most recent title.

While he hasn’t won on the European or PGA Tour since August 2008 - 1,489 days ago - he’s shown signs that all that’s separating him from a good week is a consistent performance with the putter.

Why he wrote this on his blog is another question altogether. Having confessed months ago that he has been decelerating on his putts, he mentioned it again following the Deutsche Bank Championship as though it were something new.

During the week I was practicing my putting and a couple of people said to me that I looked like I was decelerating.  When I thought about it, it made perfect sense and the more I hit putts I realized that I actually was.  Since realizing this I spent a lot of time on the putting green working on correcting this.  It felt a little awkward at first but as the week wore on it became more comfortable.

If only he could find that Rolls Royce-smooth putting stroke that brought him those three majors wins in 13 months.