Reuters - Padraig Harrington was still coming to terms with a myriad of distractions following his Open Championship success during preparation for this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
The 35 year old Irishman has barely hit a golf ball since his playoff victory over Spaniard Sergio Garcia ten days ago, spending most of his time receiving congratulatory messages and juggling a welter of media interviews.
"Whenever anybody dreams about winning The Open Championship, they dream about holing the putt and they dream about holding the Claret Jug up," Harrington told a news conference at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
"They don't dream about what happens afterward. It's amazing how much of it there is. I'm thinking it's going to tail off now at this stage, even though the interviews for the future are piling up already, lots of things.
"I've had over 200 text messages. One of my friends changed my name in the phone to 'Champion Golfer 2007', so that was nice."
Harrington, whose maiden victory in a Major at Carnoustie was the first by a European for eight years, always expected to be under-prepared for this week's tournament.
"You can't prepare yourself for anything like this, but I knew there would be a lot of things to do, a lot of distractions," he said. "My preparation is very poor for this, in fairness.
"I didn't hit a shot last week, I did no practice. I came here yesterday and I managed to get only seven holes of golf in.
"I've had a chat with (sports psychologist) Bob Rotella about it and the goal going forward is to do all the things I need to do and when the tournament starts tomorrow, just get back into playing.
"Hopefully the game will still be there and gradually improve over the next four days and maybe I can get in contention on Sunday."
Harrington, The European Tour's Player of the Month for July, has already consulted other first-time Major winners to see how they handled all the pressures away from the course.
"I asked them how they got on, what they felt and what they did right and what they did wrong," he said. "At this stage, that's probably my best tactic, rather than going along and trying to figure it all out on my own."
Asked how his Open triumph had been received in his native Ireland, Harrington replied: "The reaction at home was incredible.
"There was traffic stopped on roads. I know people who broke their TV when I hit it in the water (on the 72nd hole), the amount of men who cried.
"I could never have predicted the reaction. It has been phenomenal. It also cost the bookmakers €5 million. What more can you ask for?"
Tiger Woods,meanwhile, feels so comfortable playing at Firestone Country Club that he delayed his arrival until the eve of the tournament.
A five time winner of an event that has assembled the game's top 50 players, Woods decided to practise on Tuesday at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma, venue for next week's US PGA Championship.
"This is a World Golf Championship and then we have the PGA next week, two big weeks back-to-back and I'm trying to get ready for both," the World Number One said. "It's just two weeks I really want to win."
Woods boasts an extraordinary record at Firestone, where he will be bidding for his third successive victory. He has triumphed five times in eight appearances, shooting 23 rounds in the sixties and never finishing worse than tied for fourth.
"Each and every year I've played this golf course, it just seems to have worked out," said the 31 year old, who won last year's title by edging out fellow American Stewart Cink at the fourth extra hole.
"I don't know what it is about this golf course; it just looks right. For some reason I've had some success here.
"I think it's just because I love old, traditional golf courses. We don't get a chance to play these types of venues anymore. There are certain venues that I think all the players thoroughly enjoy playing, and this is one of them."
Argentina's Andres Romero, one of the game's hottest players over the last fortnight, has been grouped with Woods for the first two rounds.
Romero, who clinched his maiden European Tour title at the Deutsche Bank Players’ Championship of Europe in Germany on Sunday, was stunned when he heard the news of his high-profile pairing.
"It's going to be exciting and difficult at the same time. I admire his game a lot, so to have him in the same group the first two days is something I'm looking forward to.'
The 26 year old from Tucuman claimed the final spot in the 84-strong field for this week's event at Firestone Country Club with his breakthrough victory at Gut Kaden.
Ranked 114th in the world two weeks ago, the Argentine soared to 29th after finishing third at The Open and then winning in Hamburg by three strokes.
"It's great," Romero said. "I didn't even have this tournament on my schedule and now I'm paired with the Number One player in the world."
Asked if he expected greater recognition of his own talents while playing in Woods's company at Firestone, he replied: "Definitely yes
"I just hope I don't get caught watching Tiger and stick to my game. But they'll know who I am because it's in the pairing sheet."
Romero said his exhilarating form over the last two weeks owed much to compatriot Angel Cabrera, who became the second South American to win a Major title with a one-shot victory at last month's US Open.
"He definitely inspired me," added the Argentina, who led The Open by two shots with two holes to go before slipping back into third. "It was great to see him win on TV and I think it opened my eyes and told me that I could do this also.
"It not only helped me at the British Open but it inspired me to win last week also."
Cabrera believes Romero is capable of making a significant impact on the game.
"You never know how far somebody can get but he has a lot of potential," Cabrera said "Time will tell. He's pretty much a good player all around but I think the big difference for him is on the greens. He putts very well. I am really happy for him that he has enjoyed such a good run over the last two weeks."
