HARRISON, N.Y. -- Among the special interests Trevor Immelman lists in the PGA TOUR media guide is reading autobiographies.

The 26-year-old South African may be years away from penning his own, but Immelman is certainly making sure he has some interesting things to write about should he ever be so inclined.

In his first full season on the PGA TOUR, Immelman has already posted a pair of second-place finishes, including a playoff loss to Jim Furyk at the Wachovia Championship. A week later, he finished one stroke behind Brett Wetterich at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

Those two runner-up finishes, combined with a tie for 11th at the Shell Houston Open and joint seventh at the Memorial Tournament last week, have Immelman among the favorites to contend again at this week’s Barclays Classic.

“It's been a great month for me,” Immelman admitted Wednesday as rain pelted the interview tent beside the sprawling clubhouse at Westchester Country Club. “It's been fantastic to get some results in. I have felt really comfortable the last couple months on the TOUR here and finding my feet and finding my way.”

Immelman, who won more than $1.6 million during that four-week stretch, also made a big move in the Official World Golf Ranking. He’s climbed 30 spots from the start of the year to No. 34, and he’s pleased with the steady progress.

“It's great for me to be able to have the opportunity of getting in the hunt at big tournaments against top-notch fields,” said Immelman, who has acquired a trendy soul patch on his chin since leaving Charlotte. “I've really enjoyed that. “I've put so much work in away from tournaments on my game, on trying to get as strong as I can, trying to work on my mental approach, that for all of us when we put that much effort in, to see results, it's really satisfying. … “I'd love to keep improving that and just see how far my talent can take me.”

Immelman began playing golf when he was 5 and growing up in Cape Town. He came by his interest in the game honestly. His brother Mark, nine years his elder, is an instructor and his father, Johan, is commissioner of the Sunshine Tour.

By the time Immelman was 12, he was a scratch golfer. He won the 1998 U.S. Public Links Championship -- a year after he lost in the finals of the British Amateur, New Zealand Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur.

Immelman turned pro at the age of 20 and won his first tournament, the Vodacom Players Championship, a year later. He’s gone on to capture three European Tour titles and teamed with Rory Sabbatini to win the World Golf Championships-World Cup in 2003.

Along the way, Immelman has shown a penchant for playing the toughest courses well. He tied for fifth at the Masters, 15th at the British Open and 17th at the PGA Championship last year. Small wonder, then, that Immelman’s idol, Gary Player, opted to make his countryman one of his Captain’s Picks for the International Team at the 2005 Presidents Cup.

Westchester’s old-style layout with its tree-lined fairways, small, sloping greens and thick rough would seem to suit Immelman, particularly after the way he played at Quail Hollow at the Wachovia Championship.

“The key to it, is really driving the ball well and keeping it in play,” Immelman said. “There seems to be a bit of rough around, (and) especially with the wet weather we're anticipating, it's going to be nice and juicy. I think you're going to have to drive the ball in play, and from there I think you'll have to be in some way able to attack the small greens.

“Obviously with the plateaus on the greens, the distance control is going to be quite important. I think the key this week is to drive it in play and from there you can have a good chance of making a good score. I think that good ball-striking is rewarded on this golf course, there's no doubt about that.”

Immelman has yet to play Winged Foot, where the U.S. Open will be held five miles away from here next week. He feels the Tillinghast design will be similar in nature to Westchester, though, and he looks forward to his first nine holes there on Monday.

Trevor Immelman has finished in the top 10 in his last three events. (Cohen/ WireImage)

“I've heard … that's an incredible golf course,” Immelman said. “I know Davis (Love III) won the PGA (Championship) there maybe in '97, so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm still so young, 26 years old, and I'm still trying to get majors under my belt. Every one I play in is a great thrill for me.”

So does Immelman have a better chance to eventually win one of those majors now that he’s playing full-time in the United States? Not necessarily, he says.

Immelman feels that the experience he gained on the European Tour playing courses all over the world in a variety of weather conditions has been key to his development. At the same time, the young South African feels the consistent condition and set-up of courses on the PGA TOUR has helped him gain momentum, and the travel is much easier.

“Obviously, we were in a period maybe maybe 10, 15 years ago you had (Jose Maria) Olazabal, (Bernhard) Langer, (Nick) Faldo, Sandy Lyle -- at that point those guys were playing in Europe full-time and they were going to major events (and winning),” Immelman said.

“Tiger (Woods) and Phil (Mickelson) have kind of taken over from there. I think it's a mixture, really. It's where you feel comfortable. It's how you enjoy preparing. At the end of the day you've got to believe that what you're doing is right and that's going to be the best plan for you, and that should work.”

Immelman feels confident he’s taken the right path.

“I think if I play my best golf I can win a major,” he said. “I think I'd be shooting myself in the foot if I had to go to majors not thinking that I had a chance to win. … I've proved to myself in regular TOUR events that I can hang in there with some of the best players, so I'd love to be in that situation and see what could happen.”