Incredulous Harrington pinching himself at back-to-back Open wins

Three weeks on from his four-shot victory at Royal Birkdale to record back-to-back Open Championship wins, Harrington was toasting his success in becoming the first European since Scotland's Tommy Armour in 1930 to win the PGA Championship.

His two-shot win over Sergio Garcia of Spain and America's Ben Curtis at Oakland Hills last night made him the first European to win not just the British Open and the PGA Championship in the same year but to win any majors consecutively in the same year.

Harrington celebrates sinking the par on the 18th that won him the US PGA

That is something his multi-major-winning Euro heroes of the 1980s such as Seve
Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal, Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo never managed.

'Obviously things like that will take time to sink in,' Harrington said. 'At the moment, I'm just enjoying the PGA win for the PGA win.

'I really do like the fact that no other European has won two Majors consecutively, though, because obviously I hold a lot of European players who I grew up watching in high esteem.

'To believe that I achieved something that they hadn't is very special.'

Harrington had gone into last month's Open struggling with a wrist injury and won by four strokes from Ian Poulter with a dominant back nine in the final round.

He had come into the US PGA in Detroit feeling drained by his Royal Birkdale experience just three weeks previously and even at the halfway stage on Friday night had virtually dismissed his chances of victory, citing mental fatigue after a second- round 74 had left him at five over par for the tournament, six shots back on halfway leader JB Holmes.

Delight: Harrington kisses the Wanamaker Trophy

Two consecutive rounds of 66 followed and Harrington was asked how he would perform if he came into a major championship feeling 100 per cent fit and on top of his
game.

'No, no, no, it doesn't work like that,' Harrington said with a laugh.

'I actually struggle with things that are comfortable. It's something that I work with, with (sports psychologist) Bob Rotella. I'm better off; I definitely have a little bit of, I want to be fighting it.

'And that's why I have done well when things like this week when I'm not quite on my game. I've won many a tournament where I felt I wasn't swinging as well as I could; and performed poorly sometimes when I felt I was swinging well.

'So I'm a bit, a little bit of a contrast like that. But I'm getting better. As I said at The Open Championship, I did it when I felt good about my game, and that was important to me.'

Harrington explained how he had turned things around since that low moment on
Friday night.

'It's a fascinating thing this week that I definitely didn't have my golf swing,' he said.

'My co-ordination was out all week. On Thursday and Friday I couldn't get to the clubhouse quick enough. My game was going downhill very quickly out on the golf course.

'When I went back and had a look at it, and had a discussion with my trainer at home; it was possible that I was dehydrated. And that's what caused the lack of co-ordination.

'So it gave me something to focus on. I focused on Friday evening and Saturday, and all through Saturday and Sunday in rehydrating myself. And at least whether that was the cause or not, whether it was it might have been tiredness, as well.

'But at least I had something tangible that I could actually pin it on and try and put some effort into it and give me the belief that if I can get my hydration right, basically my co-ordination would come back. And whether it was the answer or not, it certainly helped me focus on something, and that was the important part of it.'