Harrington harbouring more major ambitions

Pádraig Harrington will not let a closing double bogey at Augusta National detract from the giant strides he has made in getting his game back into what he believes is major-winning shape.

Ireland’s most successful golfer has been a long time waiting to get into contention again on the Sunday of a major and though the double on the 18th was a disappointing end, his tie for eighth place in the Masters, Harrington’s best finish in one of the big four since winning back-to-back the Open and PGA championships in 2008,is a major source of encouragement to the 40-year-old as he plots a return to victory.

Or should we say “victories” .

When a journalist reminded him on Saturday night of his professed ambition to win another major, Harrington promptly replied: “I didn’t say that. I said majors. I didn’t use the singular.”

On Sunday he went and made a similarly unequivocal statement that he is back in the hunt, giving himself enough opportunities to go low at Augusta National and despite missing seven birdie putts, earning a top-10 finish in the process and his biggest payday, €175,095.66 since finishing second at the 2010 Irish Open.

“All the way up until the end, I take a lot of positives out of the way I played on Sunday,” Harrington said.

“I’ve won three majors, but that’s the most comfortable I’ve felt through 18 holes in the last round of a major. I was in a nice place mentally all day.

“I take very good positives. I putted well all week, I chipped well. I did a lot of good things this week.”

Was it, Harrington was asked, a sign that he was back to major-winning form?

“I hope so. I feel really good about where I am. I feel I’m on an upswing, an upturn in my game. I’m looking forward to going forward.”

Harrington, who will this week tee it up at Hilton Head for The Heritage tournament on the PGA Tour, will not dwell too long on those missed birdie putts at Augusta, despite finishing only four shots out of a tie for third and six shots out of the play-off with Louis Oosthuizen and champion Bubba Watson.

“I hit it very close every day. I haven’t seen any of the golf, but I’d be surprised if people had as many short putts as I had for birdie on Sunday. I putted well, I just didn’t hole them. I wasn’t reading them right.

“But it was a good day all the way. I played well, hit it well. It was a very positive week.

“I’m happy, save for the double bogey, but it’s no disaster. It’s not like it cost me the tournament. It might have cost me a few dollars. That was it.

“I was very calm and very relaxed. I was in a superb place. I’ve won three majors and I didn’t feel like that in those three. Especially on Saturday and Sunday I felt in a very good place. I was very comfortable on the golf course this week which bodes well for future Masters. Outside of that I have been playing well but not putting it together. This week I feel like I found a nice place mentally. There’s good things in me going forward.”

Also leaving Augusta in a happy place was Graeme McDowell, who despite being very dispirited following an opening 75 in the soggiest conditions of the week, improved his scoring throughout the tournament and finished with his best round at the Masters, a four-under-par 68 and his best finish in five starts, a tie for 12th place. Indeed the 2010 US Open champion, who next plays in two weeks in New Orleans, was all in favour of staying on at Augusta National for more fun in the sun.

“You know, I’d love this tournament to be starting tomorrow,” McDowell said, “because I fancy my chances. The golf course as wet as it was on Thursday and Friday was not the golf course for me. I am just not driving it long enough, not shaping it from right to left well enough, and I was able to handle a little bit more these firmer fairways.”