With three wins in his past six majors, a burning desire for the white heat of a Sunday afternoon and the kind of scary-eyed stare that induces a cold sweat in his opponents, Padraig Harrington is running out of ways in which to emulate Tiger Woods. If he turned up for his final rounds in a blood-red shirt and completed his shots with a trademark twirl, the impression could hardly be more convincing.

The best thing about the Irishman’s victory in last week’s US PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, when he psyched out Sergio Garcia for the second time in 13 months, was not so much the magnitude of his achievements as the manner in which he has secured them. Here is a man with the game, guts and, at long last, the belief to trade blows with Woods and come out on top. Harrington, never the most confident of players, said the day after his latest triumph that it was time to acknowledge his standing in the game, time to walk on to the first tee in a way that says: “I’m here.” And so he should. He is, after all, the first European to win back-to-back majors and only the fourth man ever to win The Open and the PGA in the same season. He joins a special group of players, including Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh, who have won three major titles. At 36, he is younger than all of them, and destined to go down as one of the most successful golfers in history.

When Woods returns from injury next year, he will encounter an opponent who is n o t i n t i m i d a t e d b y h i s presence. While the American’s position as world No 1 is probably safe, at least there will be a challenge for him to meet. “If Padraig was to get Tiger in the last match of a major, it wouldn’t bother him,” says his coach, Bob Torrance. “He would love that. He has done it already in Tiger’s own tournament. He played in the last two rounds with him and won.”

Their first opportunity to meet will be in The Masters, the major most likely to reward Harrington’s brilliant short game. If he pulls off a third consecutive major win there, he will head for the US Open at Bethpage, where he tied for eighth in 2002, seeking to emulate the Tiger Slam of 2001. While lining them up in a row is asking too much, Harrington has what it takes to win the career Grand Slam achieved only by Woods, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. “He’ll win all four of them,” says Torrance. “Not in the one year – nobody can do that – but in his career, he has a great chance.”

All of which is to forget that the man firmly established as the world No 3 already has his place in history, a point not lost on Torrance. “Somebody asked me the other day, ‘How high can he go?’ I said, ‘How high do you want him to go? He’s won three bloody majors’. Peter Alliss was a fantastic golfer, but he never won a major. Padraig has won three in just over a year.”

Harrington and Torrance first teamed up in 1998 and have been working together since. Like Nick Faldo with David Leadbetter and Woods with Butch Harmon, Harrington allowed his coach to rip up his swing and start again. His willingness to sacrifice short-term success in the interests of fulfilling a bigger ambition was the first of many parallels with Woods.

Since falling over the line for his major breakthrough at Carnoustie in 2007, he has come to relish the back nine on Sunday. In The Open at Royal Birkdale, and the PGA at Oakland Hills, he closed the deal by coming home in 32 strokes. After sinking a string of clutch putts in last week’s final round, he talked of willing the ball into the hole, the world No 1’s stock in trade.

In lifting the Claret Jug, there were shades of Woods at Torrey Pines, while his ability to get the job done in Michigan, when he wasn’t at his best, had the game’s greatest player written all over it. “I need to be in contention or to have something wrong to get that bit of excitement going in me,” he said.

Those people bracing themselves for an anticlimax don’t know Harrington. His career has been one of constant progress, albeit gradual, so that the need to improve has become a way of life. Having spent last week on holiday in North Carolina, he will turn his attention to the FedEx Cup, for which he is fourth on the points list. Starting in New Jersey this week, he will play in the first three of its four playoff events, hoping to make up ground on Woods, Kenny Perry and Mickelson. Were he to finish top of the pile and make off with the $10m first prize, it would be rich reward for a man who has played his 16 rounds of this year’s majors in seven strokes fewer than anyone else.

If Harrington is in any doubt about his new-found reputation as Woods’s biggest rival, it will be dispelled at the Ryder Cup, where he will find himself cast in the role of team leader. He was one of Europe’s few disappointments at the K Club two years ago, with just half a point from five matches, but is a stronger player now, better equipped to take on the responsibility. Not only will he be Europe’s leading man, he will be the match’s biggest player, with Woods still nursing his dodgy knee.

It’s safe to assume Harrington will not be partnering Garcia. The two have seldom spoken since their playoff at Carnoustie, and the handshake between them last Sunday night was frosty at best. With 24
The number of tournaments won by Padraig Harrington on the European and PGA Tours. Remarkably, he has also finished runner-up on 30 occasions Colin Montgomerie and Paul McGinley destined to miss out, don’t be surprised if Henrik Stenson is called into the breach. The Swede, who played with Harrington at the K Club, stayed behind at Royal Birkdale last month to congratulate him on his victory.

Woods has never produced his best in the Ryder Cup, looking distinctly ill at ease in the team environment. While comparisons with the world No 1 are meant to be a compliment, it is to be hoped Harrington doesn’t take them too literally.