Because he might be the most obscure name on the leaderboard for Masters Tournament patrons, here's a crash course in Padraig Harrington 101.

The PGA Tour guide lists snooker and tennis as his special interests.

Though he has never won on the PGA Tour, he has seven victories worldwide and has finished tied for fifth in two majors - the British Open in 1997 and the U.S. Open in 2000.

He will never enter the Guinness Book of Records under the heading "Speediest Golf Round." As playing partner Craig Stadler said: "He ain't fast, put it that way."

The golf club, he says, feels more like a garden tool in his hands lately.

But of all the minutiae to be found about the 30-year-old Irishman, the most significant item could be his scorecard. Harrington followed his first-round 69 with a 2-under-par 70 on Friday, and was tied for third place when play was suspended during the second round.

Making his third Masters appearance, Harrington said Friday's round was especially satisfying in light of the struggles he has encountered with his swing this week.

"I didn't feel comfortable today, but I was prepared for it," said Harrington, 12th in the World Golf Ranking entering the Masters. "I hit the shots I wanted to hit, which was quite nice because I'm not feeling that comfortable over the ball. I feel like I'm holding a shovel rather than a golf club. My grip is just awful."

That didn't prevent Harrington from mastering three of the holes that played among the toughest on the course Thursday and Friday: Nos. 1, 9 and 14.

On the first hole Friday, Harrington hit a 7-iron to two feet and made his putt for birdie. On No. 9, he holed a 15-foot putt with nearly four feet of break. At 14, he stuck a 7-iron shot four feet from the hole and again drained his putt for birdie.

"I didn't particularly choose to play those holes better than the other ones," Harrington said. "I attempted to play every hole the same. I don't have any special tactic for playing the difficult holes."

He also birdied Nos. 10 and 15, coming close to winning a pair of crystal goblets with a 20-foot eagle putt that lipped out on the par-5 15th.

"(The putt on 15) horseshoed out for eagle, which was probably the most disappointing thing to happen in the day," Harrington said. "I would have liked to have won a nice piece of glass."

But like most of the field Friday, Harrington wonders how much lower his score would have been had he been able to find a nice piece of grass.

After a steady rain fell for most of the morning, players complained of the muddy, waterlogged Augusta National fairways, which made the redesigned course play even tougher.

"It's a very testy course," Harrington sad. "It tests your patience."