To say that Padraig Harrington's victory in the British Open was a work in progress might be an understatement.

Vijay Singh has long held the reputation as the hardest-working man in golf, but Harrington could match him bucket for bucket, hour for hour. The difference was that Singh was refining, while Harrington seemed to be constantly rebuilding.

The turning point came 18 months ago.

"I started to believe more and more in myself," Harrington said last week in Bermuda, where he stayed on a chipping green for an hour after his six-hour pro-am round. "This season and last season, I was more comfortable. I would say in the last 18 months, for the first time, I turned up for a tournament and played those tournaments as if there were no tournaments the following week."

He said that was true even at majors, which seems odd for someone to be thinking about anything but the next shot.

But he pointed to two majors that showed the difference in his game.

One was the U.S. Open in 1998 at The Olympic Club, where he tied for 32nd. The other was the 2006 Masters, where he tied for 27th.

"At Olympic Club, I walked away from that thinking I've got to change," Harrington said. "I did everything I could. I got up-and-down, holed every putt. I felt I could do no better. I felt totally inadequate."

He was never in contention and broke par only one round at Augusta National in 2006, but he knew he was on the right track.

"There wasn't a shot that was presented where I thought somebody else had a big advantage," he said. "I said to Bob Rotella afterward, 'I'm good enough to win one of these.' And since then, I've been a lot more comfortable with my game. I feel like I can hit the shot. I'm not saying I could do it at will, but I could do it."

And he did.

Tour move

Jim Furyk doesn't know if the PGA Tour will move the Tour Championship after the Ryder Cup next year, but he's certain of one thing: Leaving everything alone would ensure players skipping at least one playoff event.

"You would see a majority take at least one week off," Furyk said. "I guarantee it."

The tour is looking at several scenarios for 2008, the only year in the TV contract in which the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup falls immediately after the FedEx Cup. A decision is expected at the policy board meeting Nov. 12.

But it could be a test to see whether the tour caters to a bigger event (Ryder Cup) or to more players. Ten of the 12 players on the U.S. team at the Presidents Cup, for example, were at the Tour Championship, and seven of them played all four weeks.

"I guess the question is do you set your schedule around 12 individuals?" Furyk asked rhetorically.

What would be the downside of moving the Tour Championship after the Ryder Cup? Furyk wondered if the Tour Championship would feel like a letdown for Ryder Cup players.

"And it would hurt the party Sunday night for the winning team," he said.

Back to winning

Mike Weir said his victory in the Fry's Electronics Open was a long time coming because it had been more than 3 1/2 years since his last PGA Tour victories.

But he certainly wasn't the only player who ended a long drought this year.

With two tournaments left in the season, already eight players went more than three years between victories. The longest wait goes to Paul Goydos, who won at the Sony Open to end a 256-tournament drought that stretched nearly 11 years.

Steve Stricker went 6 1/2 years and 146 starts before he won The Barclays, followed by Scott Verplank, who went 5 1/2 years and 139 tournaments until he won the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Two other players went more than 100 tournaments between trophy presentations -- Charles Howell III (127) and Steve Flesch (101).

So it wasn't that bad for Weir. He only went 86 starts between victories. Rounding out the list are Woody Austin and Jonathan Byrd, who both went 81 starts without winning.

Card chatter

All it takes is one good week for a player to secure his PGA Tour card next year, and Jesper Parnevik is one of several examples. He was No. 139 on the money list when the Fall Series began, but a playoff loss at the Valero Texas Open has helped move him to No. 88, and now he's trying to go higher to get into the invitationals.

Parnevik had been thinking about using a one-time exemption for top 50 on the career money list.

"But it's a pride thing," he said. "I've been playing now for 21 years and never lost my card, so it's something you want to do even though I had a little parachute thing to fall back on."

Divots

Mike Weir became the sixth player to join the $20 million club on the PGA Tour this year. The others are Mark Calcavecchia, Scott Verplank, Fred Funk, Stuart Appleby and Stewart Cink. … After serving as his assistant captain to Gary Player the last three Presidents Cup, former British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch has joined his company. Baker-Finch will be an ambassador for Black Knight International, focusing on business ventures. … The American Junior Golf Association selected Peter Uihlein and Vicky Hurst as its players of the year on Tuesday. … The 125th spot on the PGA Tour money list has increased by $169,217 through five events of the Fall Series.

Golf Glance

All Times EDT

PGA TOUR

Ginn sur Mer Classic

Site: Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: Tesoro Club (7,210 yards, par 72).

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m., 9 p.m.-midnight).

Last year: Inaugural event.

Last week: Canadian Mike Weir won the Fry's Electronics Open in Arizona for his first tour title since February 2004, closing with a 2-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over Australia's Mark Hensby. Weir has eight career victories.

Notes: Mark Calcavecchia is the only player in the top 24 on the money list in the field. The 47-year-old Calcavecchia, 12th at $2,993,332, won the PODS Championship in March in Palm Harbor for his 13th tour title. … The top 125 on the money list next week after the Children's Miracle Network Classic in Lake Buena Vista will earn full 2008 playing privileges. J.B. Holmes is 123rd with $754,616, followed by Ted Purdy ($748,002), Kevin Stadler ($737,276), Brett Quigley ($717,411), Craig Kanada ($695,280), Cameron Beckman ($694,362) and Harrison Frazar ($688,814).

LPGA TOUR

Honda LPGA Thailand

Site: Pattaya, Thailand

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: Siam Country Club, Pattaya Old Course (6,469 yards, par 72).

Television: None.

Last year: South Korea's Hee-Won Han won her sixth LPGA Tour title, beating Diana D'Alessio by five strokes in hot conditions at Amata Spring.

Last week: Norwegian star Suzann Pettersen won the Hana Bank KOLON Championship in South Korea when high wind and unplayable conditions on the stressed putting surfaces forced tournament officials to call off the final round. Pettersen has four LPGA Tour victories this year and won an event in Norway.

Notes: Han is returning to play following the birth of her first child. … Annika Sorenstam is making her 11th tour start of the year. Sidelined for nearly two months in the spring by neck and back injuries, the 10-time major champion is winless since September 2006. … Pettersen also is in the 60-player field along with Kraft Nabisco winner Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Se Ri Pak and 11-year-old Thai amateur Ariya Jutanugarn. … Creamer is coming off a second-place finish last week in Japan. … Jutanugarn is the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA Tour event. When play starts Thursday, she'll be 11 years, 11 months, 2 days. Michelle Wie set the previous record in the 2002 Takefuji Classic at 12 years, 4 months, 14 days. … The tour will compete its three-event Asian swing next week with the Mizuno Classic at Kinetsu Kashikojima in Japan.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

Charles Schwab Cup Championship

Site: Sonoma

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: Sonoma Golf Club (7,111 yards, par 72).

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, 6-8:30 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 1-3:30 a.m., 6-8:30 p.m.; Monday, 1-3:30 a.m.).

Last year: Jim Thorpe won the season-ending event for the second time in four years, closing with a 68 for a two-stroke victory over Tom Kite.

Last week: John Cook won his first Champions Tour title in his second start on the 50-and-over circuit, finishing with a 6-under 65 for a two-stroke victory over Mark O'Meara in the AT&T Championship in San Antonio.

Notes: The top 30 on the money list earned spots in the field and also secured 2008 exemptions. … The tournament ends the race for the Charles Schwab Cup, with the winner receiving a $1 million annuity. Loren Roberts has a 165-point lead over 2006 winner Jay Haas. Last year, Roberts missed a 4.5-foot putt on the final hole to give Haas the points title. The tournament winner will receive 880 points. … Tom Watson has won the event three times, in 2000 at the TPC Myrtle Beach, 2002 at Gaillardia in Oklahoma City and 2005 at Sonoma. … Thorpe earned the last spot in the field, edging Tom Jenkins by $4,079 for 30th place on the money list.

PGA EUROPEAN TOUR

Mallorca Classic

Site: Son Servera, Mallorca

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: Pula Golf Club (6,850 yards, par 70).

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon; Saturday-Sunday, 8:30-11:30 a.m.).

Last year: Sweden's Niclas Fasth beat Spain's Sergio Garcia by three strokes.

Last week: England's Steve Webster won the Portugal Masters for his second European tour title, closing with an 8-under 64 for a two-stroke victory.

Notes: Garcia won the 2004 tournament at Pula, and also finished second behind Jose Maria Olazabal in 2005. Garcia has seven European tour victories, the last in the 2005 European Masters in Switzerland. He also won the last of his six PGA Tour titles in 2005. … The top 60 players on the money list after the tournament will be eligible for the season-ending Volvo Masters next week at Valderrama.

NATIONWIDE TOUR

Miccosukee Championship

Site: Miami

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday

Course: Miccosukee Golf and Country Club (7,200 yards, par 71).

Television: Golf Channel (Thursday, noon-3 p.m.; Friday, 4-5:30 a.m., noon-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 4-5:30 a.m., 1-3 p.m.; Monday, 4-5:30 a.m.).

Last year: Former Georgia Tech star Bryce Molder won his first professional title, beating Boo Weekley by a stroke in the final full-field event of the year.

Last week: Ron Whittaker won the Chattanooga Classic to wrap up a spot next year on the PGA Tour, closing with a 2-under 70 for a one-stroke victory over David McKenzie.

Notes: The top 60 players on the money list after the tournament will be eligible for the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship on Nov. 9-12 at Barona Creek in Lakeside, Calif. The final top 25 on the money list will earn 2008 PGA Tour cards…. The Miccosukee Tribe bought the 27-hole complex, previously known as Kendall Lakes and Miami National, in 2001.