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Padraig Harrington reflects on contrasting 2005

The silhouette on the practice range at Sherwood Country Club on the Friday of the Target World Challenge last month belonged to Padraig Harrington, pounding balls in the dusk and then moving to the putting green when it was dark.

Despite the reputation of Vijay Singh, this might be the hardest-working man in golf.

"Working on the range, I like that,'' Harrington said. "That's not something that's difficult for me to do. I quite enjoy that end of the practice.''

But the Irishman was in dire need of a break, more for his mind than his body. Last year was his best year, and his toughest.

He won the Honda Classic in a playoff over Singh for his first PGA Tour victory, then returned home to learn that his father, a policeman, was dying of cancer.

Harrington won again at Westchester, winning the Barclays Classic with an 80-foot eagle putt on the last hole. He was hitting his stride with the British Open three weeks away, but then his father passed away, and Harrington withdrew from St. Andrews.

He tried to carry on with a full schedule because that's what a professional does. But the stress from coping with so many emotional highs and lows has taken a toll.

"I am looking forward big-time to my winter break,'' he said. "The nine weeks [he is planning to take off, including skipping the Mercedes Championships this week] are very important to me. I've got a lot of things planned for that time, and I think that's the only way I'm going to ... get closure on those sort of things and come out strong next year.''

That his break was not even longer is out of respect to Target World Challenge host Tiger Woods.

Harrington's season ended in November at the WGC-World Cup, and he already began to shut down his game. But he flew across the ocean and the United States because he was invited through the world ranking. The money was good, but mostly he likes what it benefits -- the Tiger Woods Learning Center, which opens in February, and other programs for kids.

"I honestly don't think I'm here for the golfing reasons,'' he said. "I think I could have done with 13 weeks off. But it's a good place for me. It's a good reason to come here.''

Better yet are these two months away from the game.

Harrington hasn't stashed his golf clubs in the closet. In fact, he works harder than ever in the offseason, spending countless hours in the gym working on his fitness, and trying to groove his swing. During the year, he is too busy grinding on his chipping and putting, getting ready for tournament play.

His longest break last year was around the British Open, when he buried his father.

"It's the mental rest from competition is why I take the break,'' he said. "This year, it's more important than ever. A couple of highs of winning with some very big lows afterwards has made it even more stressful. The two wins have made the year more stressful than anything else, because I obviously got quite high when I won, and to be taken down so quickly, it's a bigger knock-back for the body than anything.

"So, this nine weeks is more important than ever, yes.''

January 5, 2006