The wrist injury which is proving a concern for Padraig Harrington on the eve of the 137th Open here at Royal Birkdale isn't the only thing weighing on the mind of the reigning champion. Harrington, as much as anything, is actually trying to forget the fact that he is going into this event as current holder of the Claret Jug.

The 36-year-old Irishman spoke yesterday of the various strains he had felt since winning at Carnoustie last year. Every Open champion to some extent becomes a celebrated figure, but in Harrignton's case, he actually went down sick with all the hoopla which followed his Carnoustie triumph.

"You can enjoy winning the Open, but there's no question, it brings extra pressure, extra expectation and it's a distraction," Harrington said. "There's nothing I would want to change about being Open champion but at the start of this year I overdid it got really fatigued, and then I got shingles, a sure sign of stress.

"But the key to it is - and this is what separates those players who win and those who don't - you've got to put your neck on the line, and sometimes it will get chopped off. Golf can make you look foolish but you've got to put yourself in the position - that's the difference between being a winner and forever not having a chance.

"At times I've thought, 'do I want to put myself through this time and time again?' but to be honest, I would. I overdid it [being Open champion] and I got sick, but I wouldn't give it up. It's a burden you love to try to handle, even if there is extra pressure. I'm actually trying to avoid the idea of being the Open champion this week."

Yet as Harrington said, he'd rather be an Open champion than a perennial nearly-man, which was the unwanted tag he was starting to attract prior to winning in Scotland last year. Even there, at Carnoustie, the Irishman stumbled into a play-off which he eventually won against Sergio Garcia, having double-bogeyed the 72nd hole.

"At one stage I had a remarkable record in my career of second places," Harrington said. "That was as a pro but it had been the same as an amateur. And I'm sure the psychologists will tell you that if you get hurt often enough, you wouldn't want to go back to these situations. But there is still nothing like the experience of being in contention.

"I'm aware now of the twin imposters of success and failure, and of how similar they are. Sometimes there's not much between winning and losing, but if you win you're put up on a pedestal where everything is great, and if you lose, you're cut down to your knees.

"At Carnoustie I messed up coming down 18 but forced myself back into the zone, and finally it was there for the winning."