Published Wednesday, 08 February 2012
Padraig Harrington's hoping to get back in the swing of things ... (© Getty)
The 40-year-old may be a three-time major winner, but he's slipped to 93rd in the world and needs to climb back into the top 65 to qualify for the Accenture Match Play in Tucson later this month.
In a bid to make sure he turns his fortunes around, Harrington has followed in the footsteps of golf's world number one Luke Donald and rugby's Jonny Wilkinson to team up with mental coach Dave Alred.
The pair only started working together in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago, but Harrington - who only finished 35th then - has already branded the benefits as "fantastic".
"Prior to the week, I was excited at the prospect of what he would bring to the table, but also a little apprehensive," Harrington admitted, adding that he was now exciting about working with Alred again.
"I was asked about what he does. The best way I could explain it was that he doesn't have new answers or questions, he merely asks the same questions but in a different way.
"He observed what I do and then gave his thoughts on how I could do it better.
"He has totally changed the way I'll practice by giving it more meaning. The changes will have a huge effect for the rest of the year."
Harrington plays the AT&T National Pro-am at Pebble Beach once again in the company of racehorse owner JP McManus - they start on the Monterey Peninsular course on Thursday.
Tiger Woods, whose first US appearance of the year has dominated the build-up, is at Spyglass Hill along with partner Tony Romo - the Dallas Cowboys quarterback who tried to qualify for the 2005 US Open.