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ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) -- Padraig Harrington starts the defense of his Dunhill Links title Thursday with his eyes on a bigger prize -- the European Tour's money title.

Padraig Harrington won the Open Championship in July in a playoff over Sergio Garcia. (WireImage)

"Big time, it's one of my targets," the British Open champion said Wednesday. "No one likes to lose anything they're leading."

The Irishman won the Order of Merit last year and currently leads Justin Rose by more than ?325,000 (US$461,330).

"I think one of my chasers is going to win one of these four events left, so I have to win one of them, too," Harrington said. "If I can do that, I think I'd be awfully unlucky not to win the Order."

Harrington will play next week in the World Match Play at Wentworth, which has the richest prize in golf at 1 million pounds (US$2.03 million). He is skipping two other events and early next month plays at the Volvo Masters, the tournament where Harrington clinched the money title last year.

The Dunhill Links is played over Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St. Andrews for three days, with the 60 qualifiers advancing to the final round on the Old Course at St. Andrew's on Sunday.

Harrington will be happy to start at Carnoustie's 10th hole Thursday to avoid ending at the 18th, where he made double-bogey in the last round of the British Open in July. That triggered a playoff against Sergio Garcia, which Harrington won.

"It's one of the toughest finishing holes in championship golf. I'm glad it's not my 18th. I have never felt comfortable there," Harrington said.

Rose can move ahead of Harrington if he wins the first prize of 392,368 pounds (US$798,290) this week.

Ernie Els, in third place, has been second twice in the Dunhill Links, each time by a stroke,

"It's a big two weeks for me and I want to win one or both of this and the Match Play," Els said. "If I can, then the Order of Merit is a possibility."

But Els is committed to the Singapore Masters the same week as the Volvo Masters at Valderrama, so would need to have it wrapped up before then.

Justin Rose (WireImage)

Els, ranked fifth in the world, was on the losing Presidents Cup team last week but was pleased with his own game.

"Everything is in good shape and I'm confident. I found a lot of good stuff to do with my game, a little trigger in my swing, but more important a key to my putting," Els said.

Colin Montgomerie, who is 11th in the Order of Merit, said he was not thinking about the overall title.

"My main goal is to get my world ranking higher," said Montgomerie, the 2005 Order of Merit champion. "It's 45th as we speak and it's got to be better."

Lee Westwood won the British Masters two weeks ago and credited his resurgence to more exercise and a better diet.

"Spit out all the things that taste nice and do the gym four times a week," Westwood said.

He's also worked on his main weakness, the short game.

"If I'm looking at 25-footers now, I'm feeling like I can make them," Westwood said. "It's kind of like a second career about to start."