Harrington spots some hope among the bogeys

Pádraig Harrington’s Masters aspirations look more distant after he slumped to an equal worst PGA Tour round in shooting 80 on the final day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.

Harrington had just one birdie in a round that included a first-hole double bogey and also seven bogeys to end the event near the tail of the field at five over par.

It is the triple Major winner’s poorest round by four shots in 14 rounds at the Bay Hill course and his highest score since an 80 on the final day of last year’s Travelers (ONE L) Championship in Connecticut.

Harrington managed to find just half the Bay Hill fairways and after averaging 28 putts the first three days, he had 34 putts over his last 18 holes.

But despite his poor showing, Harrington was upbeat heading to next week’s US$6.2m Valero Texas Open.

“There are a lot of positives I can take from the week with me to San Antonio,” he said.

“Of course, there was nothing much I could take from the front nine today but outside of that there is a lot of positives.”

Harrington was staying on in Orlando last night and heading this morning to the ‘Alamo’ City with memories of having finished tied for 10th a year ago behind Scotland’s Martin Laird, who denied then World No 1 Rory McIlroy the title by shooting a final-round 63 to win by two shots.

“The Texas Open course is usually a windy course and that should suit me,” said Harrington.

Graeme McDowell was rushing back to his nearby Lake Nona residence with just two-and-a-half hours before his flight to London and then connecting this morning on a Malaysian Airlines flight for an appearance later this week in the inaugural EurAsian Cup in Kuala Lumpur.

McDowell played the final round alongside Davis Love III, the losing 2012 US Ryder Cup captain, shooting a 70 compared to the American’s 73, and a day after facing Celtic Manor singles rival Hunter Mahan when McDowell got himself back into the Florida event with a 67.

And after averaging less than eight of 14 fairways over his first two rounds, McDowell missed just one fairway on the weekend — that being the 15th yesterday where he took a bogey ahead of then doubling the par-three 17th where he found water guarding the green.

“I went back home on Friday panicking a little where I pulled about 10 drivers out of the archives and went down to the Lake Nona range and tried to find something,” he said.

“It was one of the new Cleveland Classic drivers I was testing a lot last year but when the new Srxion came out, I archived the Cleveland,” he added.

“This driver is not as long as I have been using this year but it is a hell of a lot more accurate and I will be taking it with me to Malaysia this week.”