The £2million Volvo PGA championship at Wentworth in May is regarded as the tour’s flagship event, but it was the only one in which Harrington missed the halfway cut all this season and in seven attempts he has never had a top-10 finish.

“There’s no point in going and playing golf courses that you struggle to make the cut at or that you struggle on,” said the Dubliner after failing in his bid to grab the number one spot from Goosen in Spain yesterday.

“It’s a tough enough game without going to a golf course that doesn’t suit you.”

For the same reason, Harrington is not certain to play in the £3.5million Accenture world match play championship in California in February.

Although a million-dollar first prize is on offer there, he has made the long trip twice and been knocked out in the first round twice.

Harrington, ecstatic about his second place on the money list last year because he won the season-ending Volvo Masters to achieve it, was bitterly disappointed last night because he knew the chance was there to head the list for the first time in his career.

Goosen was only 34th at Valderrama on 12 over par and Harrington would have taken the crown if he had finished six over. But he finished on seven shots too many.

At least it was not the two-stroke penalty in the first round for repairing a pitch mark off the green that proved decisive, but he does not want to spend time reflecting on where he lost it.

“Bar the tournament I won I could give you a sob story from every week,” he commented. “But you would really go barmy if you look at what you’ve lost at each event.

“I’ve learnt from the experience and what’s good is that there’s not a part of my game I can’t improve. I can improve leaps and bounds in all areas.”

Among the lessons was not to get sucked into thinking solely about the Order of Merit in the closing weeks.

“I was not playing the Volvo Masters this week, I was trying to win the Order of Merit, which is silly,” he added.

“You get ahead of yourself and I was not myself the last three weeks because there was so much attention on the money list.”

Goosen retained his title with an admission that, apart from when he finished second to Tiger Woods in the American Express world championship in Ireland in September, he has not played well for the last six months.

The 33-year-old becomes the first non-European ever to win the Order of Merit two years in a row – but also the first player since Sandy Lyle in 1980 to lift the crown winning only one tournament.

“To have the trophy in my trophy cabinet is something special, but I’m knackered,” he stated.

“I’m probably cutting back on my schedule next year. I think I’ll be playing pretty much the same in America, but probably four or five fewer in Europe.

“I’ve been travelling a lot and there was a point in the last couple of months when I knew I was getting tired, but knew I had to keep going.”

Goosen’s English wife Tracy is expecting their first child in the middle of March and the world number four intends taking virtually the whole of that month off.

He had fewer top 10s than Harrington, a worse stroke average and was not as many under par for the whole season, but cash is what counts.

Last year the gap between the two was £480,000, so at least Harrington can say he is getting much closer. The difference this time was only £16,000.

Goosen joins an elite club who have retained the Order of Merit – Colin Montgomerie, Lyle, Severiano Ballesteros, Peter Oosterhuis, Christy O’Connor and, back in the 1940s, Charlie Ward.

Montgomerie, of course, won it seven years in a row from 1993 to 1999, a staggering feat which might never be equalled.

Even though he will be cutting back, Goosen thinks he can still make it three next season.

“Luckily the majors and the world championships count for both tours. Do well in those and you can be right up there,” said Goosen.

At least Goosen was talking again. His responses to press questions had become almost monosyllabic following coverage of his remarks about Harrington being “definitely the slowest player on tour.”

He has apologised to his stablemate and has probably learnt a lesson himself.