His failure to win at home last summer provided Rory McIlroy with a liberating epiphany.

With the pressure of securing a starting spot in his hometown Open Championship later this month now lifted, Graeme McDowell is relishing the opportunity to free his mind and concentrate on the task at hand: a good week in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

A smiling Padraig Harrington, doing a brilliant job of handling all the pressure on him, began his bid for a third successive major title with a three-under-par 69 in The Masters at Augusta National.