Padraig Harrington’s a bit like a kid in a candy store now he’s working with new coach, Peter Cowen.

Having dumped long-time coach, Butch Harmon, Harrington had a first session with Cowen last Saturday in Ohio at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational.

The triple Major winning Irishman is so excited now at the thought of working with Cowen, so much so Harrington’s having to somewhat restrain himself.

“I’m just trying to figure out where Pete is going with it, bar hitting two baskets of balls on Saturday afternoon I haven’t tried to hit one more shot since then,” said Harrington.

“I have been very disciplined even though I’ve been asking him quite a lot of questions over nine holes about different things.

“We’re still at the point of finding out if I like the idea of what he is talking about and if we’re going to go down that road.

“So I assume, once I’m committed, we’ll start discussing a schedule and things like that, and how it will fit in and what I need to do.

“That will be the next step but the only issue is that this tournament’s in the way.”

With the exception of Harrington, Cowen will be kept busy with six players competing in ‘Golf ‘s Last Grab for Glory’ including fellow Major Champions, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen.

Cowen will also be attending to the coaching needs of Thomas Bjorn and new Irish Open winner, Simon Dyson.

“Pete tends to go to a lot of events, so I should be able to see him as much as you want,” said Harrington.

“Then I am a great believer in a little bit of coaching when it comes to playing.  It could suit me.

“But let’s get the initial stages over first as this is a big week because it’s a Major and you always want to feel like you did things right.

“That’s the important thing and getting the preparation right is half the mental battle.

“When it comes to hitting shots down the stretch, no matter how good they are, much more is to do with your mental game than it is to do with your physical game.

“So it’s important to try and get that right, not to flog yourself to death trying to get something corrected.

“Your head is the thing that’s going to handle the pressure more than anything else at the end of the day.”

And after having played a practice round on the Atlanta Country Club course, Harrington was full of praise for the venue for the season’s ‘Last shot at glory’.

“The course is great and anyone who finds a problem with this golf course will have a problem,” he said.

“It’s a nice playable golf course, not too much rough around the greens, old style greens come back to the front, nice pace, not ridiculous, some tough shots, some