Padraig Harrington plans to spend his end-of-the-year break pounding a treadmill and reshaping his swing after being named the European Tour's golfer of the year for a second successive time.

The 37-year-old Irishman's success in becoming the first European to successfully defend the British Open title since 1906 and his victory in the US PGA made him a runaway winner of the award, which was announced by the tour on Tuesday.

But the Dubliner showed no signs of creeping complacency as he outlined how he plans to launch an assault on the US Masters in April.

"I have some serious gym work to do in my winter break and I also have some swing changes to make," Harrington said.

"When I come out next year I will be focused on getting my game ready for every week and building up for the Masters tournament at Augusta National.

"I know the Masters will be the hardest major for me to win because of the attention that will be on me.

"It is a lot easier to go into these things with a little less profile and stay patient for two or three days under the radar and finish it off on Sunday.

"But I won't have that luxury at Augusta because right from the word go there will be focus on me."

Looking back on his stellar 2008, Harrington admitted he had surprised even himself with the way he shrugged off a wrist injury to triumph in the Open at Royal Birkdale before going on to add the US PGA crown thanks to sensational 66s in both his 3rd and final rounds.

"After you win a major you get such a high out of it that, not surprisingly, there can be a little bit of a fall-off," he said.

"Therefore, to go out and win the US PGA Championship three weeks later was incredibly exciting.

"Holing those putts at the end and the way the win came about, I will never forget it — that was one of the most thrilling wins of my entire career."

Harrington did not actually top Europe's money list — that honour went to Robert Karlsson, who admitted that Harrington's achievements had eclipsed his own milestone as the first Swede to be European number one at the end of the year.

"It was a long time ago that any European player won two major championships in a single season (Nick Faldo in 1990) and, for that alone, there is no doubt that Padraig Harrington is the Golfer of the Year," Karlsson said.

"There have been many guys expected to win major championships, but Padraig did it twice in one year — that is fantastic for him and for Europe."