Harrington makes most of a few good breaks

US Masters:On Thursday evening, something played on Padraig Harrington's mind as he reflected on his woeful start to his latest US Masters adventure. It wasn't the triple-bogey eight that was racked up on the 15th; rather, it was the misdemeanour on the previous hole, the 14th, where he three-putted from 25 feet.

It was, he attested, one of a number of "silly errors" that had crept into his game. He didn't like it, not at all. Padraig Harrington never likes signing for a round of 77.

Yesterday morning, as he walked to the first tee alongside his caddie, Ronan Flood, and took his place there alongside playing partners Jerry Kelly and Luke Donald, he knew he required a decent round if he were to, first, survive the cut, and, second, that something special was required if he were to play his way into contention, in this the 35th major appearance of his career.

Yet, as he watched the first drive of the day fly towards the bunker that hangs to the right of the fairway, he got his first good vibe that things would be better than okay. The ball landed a yard left of the trap but, instead of kicking in, it kicked left to safety.

"The good break was that I didn't get a bad break," said Harrington.

He made the most of it, hitting his approach shot to 12 feet. He sank the birdie putt, and his Masters was up-and-running.

Not only that, but, after watching Donald chip-in from 60 yards for an eagle on the long second hole, and then seeing Kelly almost follow him in before tapping in for a birdie, Harrington holed a slick, downhill 15-footer for another birdie.

"Someone once said to me, 'a rising tide lifts all shops' . . . so, it's nice when your playing partners are also holing putts. It brings you along," he remarked, of a start which saw him regenerate his Masters with a birdie-birdie-birdie start that had the effect of wiping out the previous day's late triple-bogey.

Harrington, in fact, was to record a second round 68 for 145, one-over. It was an impressive effort, particularly given that it included an double-bogey on the seventh, when he pushed his three-wood tee-shot into the trees down the right.

Despite playing a superb approach from the pine needles, the effort finished up just short of the greenside bunker. But, in attempting to chip over the sand trap, the Dubliner watched as the ball clipped the top of the bunker and fell inside. He failed to get up-and-down, and it seemed as if much of his good work had been undone in one fell swoop.

This time, though, Harrington was up to the challenge and immediately bounced back with a birdie on the par five eighth hole. On the ninth, another superb iron approach left him with a five-foot birdie putt, which hit the hole and spun out.

When he bogeyed the 10th, his response was to roll in an 18-footer for birdie on the 11th. On returning to the 15th, the scene of his meltdown the previous day, Harrington hit the green in two and, although he missed the eagle putt, he rolled in the birdie to move to three-under for his round, two-over for the tournament.

The best, though was reserved for last. On the 18th, his drive found the right side of the fairway and, blocked out by the trees, he was faced with a difficult shot to the green. From such adversity, he produced his shot of the round, hitting what he later termed "a half five-iron", cutting the ball onto the green. It was creative shotmaking, and he finished it off by rolling in the birdie putt.

So, what was different in two days?

"Actually, I played quite similar. Yesterday, I slipped up terribly with my short game and, today, I made a couple of mistakes as well . . . but I did create a lot of chances. I must have holed, what, six 15-footers in the round? Yesterday, I missed all of those putts. But the good start was important. When I had that three-birdie start, I knew the leader was well within reach.

"Then, after the double bogey on seven, I knew I had to get going forward again to keep away from the cut line. And the fact I'd made a few putts early on gave me the incentive to hole more. The momentum was there and, having made those putts of around 15 feet on the first three holes, I knew my eye was in and I was feeling good.

"Anything can happen on this course, and I'm happy with my position because I am very much back in the tournament."