GOLF US OPEN:FRIDAY THE 13th how are ye? On Thursday evening, Pádraig Harrington finished signing for a 78 in the first round of the US Open here at Torrey Pines and went against his normal inclination to at least hit a few putts to

unwind. What was the point? The prospect of a good meal and a good night's sleep provided a more appetising recipe than reliving the demons of bumpy, crusty greens.

Yesterday morning Harrington returned to the scene of the crime knowing that his very survival in the 108th US Open hung by a thread. The back nine of his first round had proven to be a graveyard, the carnage including two double bogeys and four bogeys in that nine-hole stretch.

This time, as if to prove how fickle the golfing gods can be, Harrington's scene of heartache was turned to one of redemption as he contrived to improve by 11 shots on his opening effort, firing a 67 for 145, three over, that more than ensured his survival for the weekend: it propelled him back into contention.

On the same nine holes where it had seemed his quest for a US Open to add to his British Open title had ended before it started, the 36-year-old Dubliner reignited his challenge with an error-free run highlighted by some typically resilient par saves - he single-putted his first four holes - along with two birdies that represented an eight-stroke variance in how he played it on Thursday evening.

Harrington's revival was what we've come to expect from him. For sure, he's no quitter, not one to give in without a fight.

So, from the time that he arrived on the 10th tee, his opening hole of the second round, he had his game face on. It wasn't one of a man in tied-112th position. In the opening round, he seemed to back off shots on number of occasions. A sign of a lack of focus? Perhaps. Yesterday, rigidly sticking to a gameplan that involved using the driver (to great effect) but also choosing to use a five-wood off the 14th and 17th - a strategy which had led to a brace of double-bogeys on Thursday - he inveigled to find a way back into the championship.

After his round on Thursday, Harrington struggled to comprehend what had hit him. After all, his fourth-placed finish in the St Jude Classic last weekend and some fulfilling practice had led to him entering the tournament with great optimism. He looked stunned, as if he had just been slapped in the face.

Yesterday, his demeanour was different. By the end, having played a bogey-free round of 67 that constituted the best round of the championship to that time, Harrington sported a broad cheek-to-cheek grin . . . but also possessed that focused look which belongs to those who truly believe in what they are about. A second round of 67 for 145, three over, had moved him from the very real possibility of consecutive missed cuts at the US Open into a position heading into the weekend where he has all to play for.

There were many impressive aspects to yesterday's round, although the par save on the par-four 12th - where he splashed out of a greenside bunker to 15 feet and sank the putt - was probably crucial. Then, on the par-five 13th, where the new tee atop the cliff was being used for the first time, Harrington, despite pushing his tee shot into the rough, created a birdie, holing from 18 feet, to really get his round going.

On the 18th, his ninth hole, he played that favoured utility club of his. With 230 yards to the flag, he found the green and the ball nestled 20 feet behind the cup. Although he missed the eagle putt, running it three feet past, he claimed the second birdie of his round . . . and further birdies were to follow on the second, hitting his approach to two feet, and the seventh, from 12 feet, as he revitalised his challenge.

It was a thoroughly impressive day's work: yesterday he had 27 putts, compared to 32 on Thursday; while he found 12 of 18 greens in regulation yesterday compared to a miserable eight in the first round.

Even Lazarus, you imagine, would have been impressed.