'We have world events that have better fields than the Majors, but they are not a Major. They have the history of success and failure. It isn't about 150 of the best guys in the world turning up, it's about who has won the thing before. Is Jack Nicklaus' name on it? That isn't the case of the Olympics now, but in 100 years' time who knows whose name may be on it.'

The Royal & Ancient Golf Club is confident golf will be reintroduced at Beijing 2008 - for the first time since the St Louis Games in 1904 - and Harrington said the Games could do with a 'clean' sport to improve its image.

'It would be great for the Olympics because they are not getting a sport tainted in any way. There has certainly been questions asked whether golf should get involved in it. The Olympics has been struggling with its image, whereas golf hasn't.'

Harrington has yet to win a Major but is already dreaming of representing his country at the 'Greatest Show on Earth'.

'I'd love to play at the Olympics,' he said. 'I'd go all out. I admire Olympians no end. I have met a number of athletes in the past couple of years and I see what they go through and I admire them so much. They have to wait four years for their one major. We play four in a year,' said the world number eight, who is defending his BMW Asian Open title in Shanghai this week.

'To be an Olympic athlete is a big deal in Ireland. We haven't won a gold medal since Michael Carruth [boxing at Barcelona 1992, Ireland's first gold medal for 36 years],' said Harrington, forgetting Michelle Smith de Bruin, who won three gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. However, her career was later tainted by a four-year ban for tampering with a drugs test.

Harrington may now be the highest ranked golfer without a Major - 'thanks Phil', he says - but the 32-year-old figures he has about 40 chances left to win one of the four big ones.

'It's wrong to compare me with Mickelson,' he said of the American who shed the tag of the 'best golfer never to win a Major'. 'Phil Mickelson has just put me in this position. I'm there because of my consistency. The last six events I played in the States I finished fifth, third, fifth, second, fourth and 13th [Masters]. To win a Major you have got to play out of your socks for the week. I've still got plenty of time.

'I'm only just starting to play in the Majors - he [Mickelson] was destined to win a Major since he was four. I've only just got to the stage where I'm competing. I wasn't beating kids four or five years older than me as a junior. OK, I was beating kids my own age. I always won at my level and dominated. It wasn't as if I was jumping above myself. And that's been mirrored in my pro career. I have gradually got better and better and become more confident. Hopefully, I've got until I'm 42 to be competitive so I have 10 years of Majors - that's 40.

'Of all the Majors I've played so far I've only played well enough to win one - that was the [2002] Open at Muirfield, won by Ernie Els. I played super tee to green but my putting, which is normally my strong suit, let me down.'

Harrington missed the playoff by one shot, but it gave him the confidence that he could one day win a Major.

He doesn't have any problem winning in Asia, winning the 2002 BMW Asia Open in Taiwan and producing a spectacular birdie-birdie finish to carry off last year's 2003 Omega Hong Kong Open at Fanling. He finished in a tie for fifth at the Macau Open last week and goes into today's final round in Shanghai 16 shots off the pace.

He will return to Europe tomorrow and be reunited with his wife, Caroline, and eight-month-old son Patrick.'The hardest thing for a golfer is to get away from the game,' he said.

'I travelled with my wife for the first few years and we'd have a 15-minute chat after each round and I'd get everything off my chest. I'd get it out there and the rest of the evening was much more relaxing. I wouldn't allow it to build up inside of me.

'It helps having a family. You're not going to talk to another player about your problems. You need someone very close to you to get it all out. Good or bad, you need to talk. My family is a very good distraction. I'm the sort of person who would think about golf all the time.'

And the reminders are everywhere at his new home in Dublin. 'I have a gym, an indoor range, two Astroturf greens and a real green,' he said.

'I have a couple of tee boxes and a couple of target areas to hit at. I can do all my practice around the house. I don't have to go out to practice. If it's a bad day, I can practice indoors. If it's good, I have a green with a putting surface that is second to none. It's brilliant.'