The Open winner has total faith in veteran swing guru, Bob Torrance, who believes his man has the game to dominate America.

The 76-year-old cloth-capped genius behind Padraig Harrington's back-to-back Open Championships has predicted his protege can now strike out to win major titles in the United States.

Bob Torrance is a sporting dinosaur who refuses to embrace the modern world of coaching, with its emphasis on science, supplements, slow-motion videos and computer analysis.

Instead, Torrance has always relied on his eyes and an intimate knowledge of the golf swing drawn from such sources as the late Ben Hogan, to whom he made several pilgrimages across the Atlantic.

It was Torrance's teaching that enabled Harrington to lift the Claret Jug at Carnoustie last year and again at Royal Birkdale on Sunday. And now he believes the 36-year-old Dubliner is equipped to become one of the golfing greats.

"I think Padraig has the ability to win anything he wants to win," said Torrance. "I think he will win the US Masters and I wouldn't be surprised if he wins the US Open as well. He's got the capabilities and the mindset."

The father of former Tour winner and victorious Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, he can still be found most days working the bays of a golf range near his home in Largs on Ayrshire's west coast. It was there that Harrington was given the makings of a classic swing.

Torrance, who guided Ian Woosnam to the 1991 US Masters, said: "Padraig is the best pupil I have ever had, the ideal student.

"He's the hardest worker, working dawn to dusk. There are never any arguments or grumbling if he hits the ball bad. He just says, 'I'll practise harder', until he gets it right."

One result of all that graft was the shot of the Birkdale Open, probably the shot of the year, when Harrington hit a five-wood from a downhill lie on the 17th fairway at the climax to his dramatic final-round duel with Greg Norman.

Playing in high wind, Harrington had the safer option of laying up on the 572-yard par five, capped with a tight two-tier green. But he took on the shot, and when the ball eventually rolled to a halt 4ft from the pin for a stupendous eagle three the title was effectively his.

"That was one of the best shots I've ever seen," said Torrance. "His swing is better even than last year. You've got to strive for perfection and that's what me and Padraig do. You'll never get it but you've got to keep going after it. If you stop trying, it is time to pack it in."

Some latter day swing coaches like to wrap as much mystery as possible around what they do but Torrance's approach to coaching is based on a few simple, basic beliefs.

He explained: "I've always felt that the legs are the most important muscles in the golf swing. Hogan proved that, so did Jack Nicklaus and so has Tiger Woods.

"But I've also believed that if something works, then don't change it. If you work on a player's strong points then you will automatically strengthen his weak points. But if you work on his weak points, then you will weaken his strong points.

"Never weaken the strong to strengthen the weak. Why would you want to do that?"

Harrington has bought into this philosophy. He said: "Bob, as far as I believe, is the best swing coach in the world. He's spent his whole life examining golf swings and I have total trust in what he says with me.

"His knowledge of the cause and effect of a golf swing is incredible. I've done some work on biomechanics and it's amazing, everything Bob says would fit straight into the computer programme of how, technically, you're meant to swing a golf club.

"His genius, and his eye, matches up with what the computer would say."

Of course, not every swing executed by Harrington was perfect at Birkdale and three successive bogeys approaching the turn on Sunday had his supporters on edge. But Torrance refused to share their concern.

He said: "I was never worried for one minute as Padraig always finishes strong. He always has a good mind and is always thinking positive. He is great under the cosh, brilliant under pressure.

"He already had a great Ryder Cup record and a major record in the Open thanks to Carnoustie. Going into last week, I told him he had nothing to prove. He certainly doesn't now."