Padraig Harrington is not eccentric or superstitious but as the clock ticks down to his bid for a hat-trick of Open titles at Turnberry he could still be classed as the Howard Hughes of golf.

On the face of it there is little in common between the always approachable Dubliner and the reclusive Texas billionaire who spent the last 20 years of his life living in hotels from Beverly Hills and Las Vegas to the Bahamas.

Howard Hughes wanted to be the best golfer in the worldWhile Hughes - a two handicapper - suffered terribly from obsessive-compulsive disorder and developed a mortal fear of germs in his final years, Harrington is only obsessive about getting better at golf. It’s not bugs that bother him but bogeys.

Hughes bought TV stations so he could set the late night movie schedule. For decades, his dinner order was the same: a steak, a baked potato and 12 green peas. “Oversize” peas were sent back to the cook.

Harrington’s been known to change hotels because the curtains in his room weren’t heavy enough to chip into at night. His wedges must always have razor sharp grooves. His grips must always go on at a certain angle.

Yet as he battles to emerge from the biggest results slump of his professional career, his decision to improve his swing after winning three majors in 13 months has been called the biggest eccentricity of all.

Unlike the unfortunate Hughes, there is method to Harrington’s madness. And that begs the question: Are all great sportsmen a breed apart? Is Harrington that different to us mere mortals?

Dressed in shorts and a tee shirt, Harrington stared at the crumbs of scone on his plate as he sat at his kitchen table and contemplated his answer.

“Yes,” he said. “Very complicated. Very complicated into what is happening what is going on. Yeah. Trying to understand the whole process so that I can control it.

“I probably wouldn’t be able to accept performing without knowing why. Even if I was performing, I don’t think I would enjoy winning if I didn’t know why I was winning.