Bitter collapse for Pádraig

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON must have felt it was Ground-hog Day, as for the second year in succession he completed his Masters warm-up with a bitterly disappointing final round at the Shell Houston Open.

As Tiger Woods broke the ice with his fellow professionals with a practice round at Augusta National, the Dubliner crashed and burned in alarming fashion at Redstone.

Last year, Harrington racked up penalty strokes with abandon as he closed with a 76 and there was a familiar look to his scorecard last night, fighting a losing battle with a hook and following rounds of 69, 69 and 72 with a five-over par 77 to finish in the bottom half of the field on one-under par.