GOLF:THE WORLD rankings tend to provide a good indication of a player's form, given they are weighted to take into account performance over an extended period. In Pádraig Harrington's case, yesterday's latest rankings brought a dose of reality as, in slipping outside the world's top-20 for the first time in almost a decade, the three-time major champion – so long the standard-bearer for European golf – now finds himself only the ninth ranked player on the continent.

Harrington has spent the better part of the past decade firmly entrenched in the world’s top-10, rising to a height of third in August 2008 after he won back-to-back majors at the British Open and the USPGA. Indeed, since featuring at eighth on the first ranking list of the year in 2003, Harrington has consistently occupied a place in the higher echelons.

Since 2002, Harrington’s year-on-year ranking in January has been: 2002 – 11th; 2003 – 8th; 2004 – 9th; 2005, 6th; 2006 – 17th; 2007 – 7th; 2008 – 8th; 2009 – 4th; 2010 – 6th.

But the Dubliner’s failure to win on tour this year, despite a run of seven top-10s throughout 2010 – WGC-CA Championship (3rd), Transitions championship (8th), Quail Hollow championship (7th), BMW PGA (6th), Travelers championship (5th), 3 Irish Open (2nd) and WGC-Bridgestone (9th) – has seen him slip from sixth at the start of the year to 22nd in the latest official rankings.

You have to go back to January 2001 – when he started the year in 24th – for a poorer world ranking position for Harrington.

From Harrington’s point of view, the importance of the world ranking in the coming weeks is it will provide him with an exemption into the megabucks HSBC Champions tournament in China in November. The cut-off point from the world rankings for that WGC tournament is September 27th, and Harrington must remain inside the world’s top-25 on that date to get a place in the field which is limited to 78 players and does not have a cut.

Should Harrington fall outside the world’s top-25, he would need to win one of the remaining designated European Tour events – the Alfred Dunhill Links, the Portugese Masters – to get into the tournament.

Harrington returns to action in next week’s Vivendi Trophy tournament in Paris, which will serve as his final preparation for the Ryder Cup. It will also give him the chance to ensure he stays within the world’s top-25, with one eye on that HSBC place.

Rory McIlroy, as winner of the Quail Hollow championship, and US Open champion Graeme McDowell are guaranteed their places.