Harrington not a believer in Par 3 jinx

Pádraig Harrington is having none of that statistic that winning the Par 3 Contest on the eve of the Masters precludes a golfer from winning the main event.

Harrington shared top spot with Jonathan Byrd on Wednesday and then went out and shot his best round in four years at Augusta National, a one-under 71.

And despite other players reputedly doing their best not to win the Par 3 for fear of jinxing their chances, Harrington said: “I’ve never teed up and played a tournament where I didn’t try on every shot, so I wouldn’t play if I wasn’t trying. I like winning.”