IRISHMAN Padraig Harrington became the third player to book his place at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda this October after clinching British Open title at the weekend. Harrington joins American Zach Johnson, who won this year’s Master’s, and Angel Cabrera of Argentina who claimed the US Open title earlier this month. The fourth and final spot for the Bermuda event will be decided at next month’s final major, the PGA Championship.

But as Phil Casey of PA Sports>observes, Harrington and the other three major winners of the year will now be in high demand to appear at big tournaments — and will no doubt be forced to turn some invitations down.

<$>*<\p>*<\p>*“I’ll probably play 30 events this year because I can’t turn down so many good events, but that’s too many.”That was the view of Padraig Harrington just two months ago on the eve of the Irish Open at Adare Manor in Limerick.

Four days later he was lifting the trophy to become the first home winner of the event in 25 years, and two days ago he held aloft the Claret Jug as the first Irish winner of the Open Championship in 60 years.

The popular Dubliner has always been in demand, but that is set to multiply tenfold and the 35-year-old - delighted to prove that ‘nice guys’ can win majors following Nick Faldo’s criticism of the ‘chumminess’ of the European players - might have to learn to say “No”.

His wife Caroline is expecting their second child in December but Harrington will have a hectic schedule around that time.

Sunday’s victory in the British Open guarantees his place in the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth, a tournament with a first prize of $1million.

Before that, Harrington will be in action the previous two weeks, first at the Seve Trophy — an event he might have considered missing if it was not being staged in Ireland — and then at the Dunhill Links Championship where he will be defending both the individual and team titles.

Immediately after Wentworth comes the Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda, the four-man tournament made up of the major winners of the season.

Even finishing last over 36 holes is worth $100,000, with $125,000 for third, $150,000 for second and $300,000 for the winner.

It does not take Harrington’s degree in accountancy to work out it is an invitation worth accepting, but the match play finishes on Sunday, October 14, and the Grand Slam begins with a pre-tournament pro-am on Monday, October 15.

November also promises to be hectic with the Volvo Masters followed immediately by the HSBC Champions event in China and the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan - where Harrington will likely want to defend the title he won in a play-off with Tiger Woods last year.

That is immediately followed by the World Cup at Mission Hills in China, an event in which Harrington has represented Ireland every year since 1996, winning it with Paul McGinley at Kiawah Island in 1997.

So much for the chances of playing less it seems, Harrington admitting he faces some difficult decisions.

“There are a lot of complications but I’m not going to worry about them for a couple of days,” he said. “At the end of the week I’ll start working on what I am going to do.

“But I want to do the Open Championship justice. Like being European number one, I want to feel I carry the flag well. It carries responsibilities.”

It looks certain no one will be able to accuse Harrington of shirking his responsibilities, and Irish golf will benefit hugely from his success and that of teenage amateur Rory McIlroy.

Not that the game in Ireland appears in need of much of a boost anyway.

For the past three Ryder Cups, Ireland - in the shape of Harrington, McGinley and Darren Clarke — has provided a quarter of the team, a debt reflected in the staging of the 2006 contest at the K Club outside Dublin.

McIlroy may be a few years away from that sort of standard, but the Silver Medal winner at Carnoustie is clearly a prodigious talent who has all of the ability — both on and off the course — to become a major star when he turns professional, most likely after the Walker Cup at Royal County Down in September.

Graeme McDowell — like Clarke from Northern Ireland — has also shown recent signs of fulfilling his potential, the former top-ranked collegiate golfer in the United States benefiting from abandoning his attempt to play a full schedule on the US Tour to concentrate on Europe for the time being.

Irish golf’s cup - or should that be Claret Jug — runneth over, and no-one deserves to drink in that success more than Harrington.