Golf - PGA Tour: Saturday may be considered 'moving day' on the pro circuit but, dispensing somewhat with tradition, Padraig Harrington made his move 24 hours early at the Transitions Championship in Florida. Carding his lowest round of the year, Harrington set the clubhouse target at Palm Harbor after reaching eight under at the halfway stage.
His 65 may not have been as smooth as numbers suggest, with too many greens missed for the meticulous Dubliner to be content with, but his unrivalled ability to scramble kept all but one bogey off the card.
And when the opportunities did present themselves, thanks to some stunning approach shots, Harrington grasped them hungrily. He needed just 24 putts on tough greens and feels he is approaching his peak at just the right time.
"I'm capable of winning in the form I'm in," Harrington said afterwards. "Am I in my best form? No. Am I getting there? Yes.
“I haven't won in a while (since claiming a sixth Irish PGA title last summer), so a result would be nice, but it's more about putting yourself in competition right up there and testing yourself.”
Starting on the back nine, Harrington pitched to two feet on the 11th and then struck a 185-yard approach to four feet at the 16th.
He then had to hole from only 20 inches on the first with two more birdies on the third and fifth. After his only dropped shot at the next he found the target from eight and 10 feet again at the seventh and ninth.
Inevitably, given the announcement earlier this week that Tiger Woods will make his comeback at the US Masters, it wasn’t long before the post-round questions turned to the world number one.
Harrington, for one, would have no qualms being paired with Woods at Augusta despite the hoopla his presence is bound to attract.
“You know, you'd like to treat it as a normal week,” he told reporters. “If there is an issue being drawn with Tiger Woods in his first tournament back, if you're going to choose a golf course for it to happen, Augusta is the place. It is as ordered as can be.
“So I would be quite comfortable if I got drawn with Tiger. I do believe, though, if it was first two rounds at Bay Hill, that would be slightly different. But then again, you wouldn't mind being there to watch it all!”
Harrington currently leads by one from a group including Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson.
American Garrett Willis, playing on a sponsor invitation and leader by two overnight, was among the later starters, but a bogey six at the long 11th saw him slip into a tie for fifth on five under.
England’s Luke Donald and Ross Fisher both stood three under, Donald after a 68 and Fisher level par for the day with three holes to play.Compatriots Ian Poulter and Justin Rose were other late starters and looked like having to improve three shots on their opening 73s to survive the halfway cut.