PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON had seven months of waiting, to tease over the fact that the next time he teed-up in a major on the first tee at Augusta National would be the first stroke in his quest for golfing immortality. One more move towards the ‘Paddy Slam’. Yesterday, that first tee shot – ouch, pulled left into the pine needles – turned into 69 strokes, for three under par, to make for a very decent opening salvo.
A quarter of the way gone, three-quarters to go.
No wonder he was smiling afterwards, even if others took greater advantage of the benign conditions and a set-up to inspire aggressive play. In past Masters, Harrington – despite three top-seven finishes – has often shot himself in the foot with poor first rounds.
It’s an element of his preparations that he has worked assiduously on with his sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella. The hours and days of talking, it seems, have worked.
Even so, Harrington – admitting that he wasn’t entirely pleased with any part of his game – headed for further work on the range after completing his round, anxious to right whatever wrongs he perceived still existed in his swing and with his short game.
“I stuck in there, but I was not overly thrill with any part. I struggled on the front nine at times, and I was getting distracted by what little wind was there . . . but I was better on the back nine. I committed more,” said Harrington, who went off to hit “a few chips and a few putts . . . that’s what I felt was weak, it’s what I need a little bit of tidying up on.”
Indeed, Harrington felt the need for “some urgency” as he listened to the roars indicating a pile of birdies from every direction.
“It felt like a day that you needed to make a few birdies, and you were a bit disappointed if you didn’t. You definitely wanted to shoot in the 60s.”
Having turned in 35, one under, Harrington grabbed back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th, covering Amen Corner in two under. On the 12th, he hit a lovely tee shot to four feet and, then, reached the par five 13th green in two and two-putted from 40 feet for birdie.
However, the 15th, which has proven an awkward hole for the Dubliner down the years, again proved uncooperative. Having laid up, Harrington put his approach over the back of the green and failed to get up and down.
Still, he remained unperturbed, going on to birdie the 17th from 12 feet. “I’m not entirely happy with my game, or I would not be going out to do more practice. So I am not quite there, no. But I am happy in the position. I’ve done reasonably well to get it where it is, but there’s always an anxiousness to get a little more out of my game, so I’ll be hitting the range anyway.”
And Harrington’s planned build-up – despite some rather indifferent results so far this season – has him ready to make further shapes over the next three days.
“What gives me confidence is that I have an idea of how to get myself ready for tournaments and it seems to be working. The whole idea is to be there with nine holes to go (on Sunday). So far, so good. So the confidence is whatever I’m doing for me seems to work. Playing a couple of events coming into a major seems to get me ready. I’m on top of things, which is nice.”
73rd US MASTERS SECOND ROUND TEE-TIMES
(US unless stated, times Irish, (x) denotes amateurs
First tee
13:00 - L Mize, J Merrick, (x) D Kittleson.
13:11 - T Hamilton, S Flesch, M Goggin (Aus).
13:22 - T Watson, I Poulter (Eng), (x) S Wilson.
13:33 - A Baddeley (Aus), B Watson, G McDowell (N Ire).
13:44 - M O’Meara, P Perez, DJ Trahan.
13:55 - F Couples, R Mediate, (x) J Newman.
14:06 - S Kjeldsen (Den), S O’Hair, R Sterne (Rsa).
14;17 - A Romero (Arg), B Weekley, C Campbell.
14:28 - B Crenshaw, P Casey (Eng), S Stricker.
14:39 - Y Yong-eun (Kor), R Allenby (Aus), H Mahan.
14:50 - Z Johnson, L Wen-tang (Tai), R Karlsson (Swe).
15:12 - J M Olazabal (Spa), M Kaymer (Ger), B Snedeker.
15:23 - KJ Choi (Kor), A Quiros (Spa), K Perry.
15:34 - T Immelman (Rsa), A Scott (Aus), (x) D Lee (Nzl).
15:45 - T Woods, S Cink, J Milkha Singh (Ind).
15:56 - A Kim, R McIlroy (N Ire), R Ishikawa (Jpn). 16:07 - I Woosnam (Wal), C Reavie, B Baird.
16:18 - S Lyle (Sco), B Mayfair, T Clark (Rsa).
16:29 - K Sutherland, R Fisher (Eng), P Marksaeng (Thai). 16:40 - L Oosthuizen (Rsa), C Pettersson (Swe), D Hart.
16:51- R Floyd, J Leonard, (x) R Saxton (Neth).
17:02 - F Zoeller, M Campbell (Nzl), K Duke.
17:24 - B Curtis, N Watney, M A Jimenez (Spa).
17:35 - C Stadler, R Sabbatini (Rsa), D Johnson.
17:46 - G Player (Rsa), L Donald (Eng), S Ames (Can).
17:57 - R Goosen (Rsa), S Hansen (Den), S Katayama (Jpn).
18:08 - B Langer (Ger), G Norman (Aus), L Westwood (Eng).
18;19 - J Rose (Eng), H Stenson (Swe), A Cabrera (Arg).
18:30 - V Singh (Fij), G Ogilvy (Aus), E Els (Rsa).
18:41 - M Weir (Can), P Harrington (Ire), R Imada (Jpn).
18:52 - P Mickelson, C Villegas (Col), J Furyk.
19:03 - S Appleby (Aus), O Wilson (Eng), S Garcia (Spa).
