Birdies bode well, move Harrington 8 shots from lead
From his first shot Friday morning, Padraig Harrington embraced the slight margin between good and bad at Augusta National Golf Club.
After all, this time he was on the right side of it.
The Irishman said he didn't hit the ball much differently in the first two days of the 71st Masters Tournament, but an occasional bounce, breeze or bit of luck made the second round turn out better when he improved his score by nine shots.
"The difference between my round today and yesterday," Harrington said after posting a 4-under-par 68 the day after shooting 77, "is I hit a drive (on No. 1) straight up inside the bunker and it bounced dead straight and finished one yard left of the bunker. I hit an 8-iron to 15 feet and holed it (for birdie.)
"If there was a little wind, it could have easily gone in the bunker and I take bogey. That's the difference between shooting 69, 68 and maybe 74, 75."
The first of his three consecutive birdies to start the round gave Harrington the start he was looking for.
After shooting 40 on the back nine Thursday, he was tied for 59th, eight shots off the lead. But by turning in the low round of the first two days, a 68 that was matched by Paul Casey on Friday, Harrington moved into a tie for eighth and was within three strokes of the lead.
His seven birdies Friday were the most of any player so far and made him believe similar scoring might be possible on the weekend.
"This golf course always gives you a chance to shoot a good score," said Harrington, who was 1-under after 10 holes Friday and birdied Nos. 11, 15 and 18 coming in. "So I can see somebody shooting a good score, no question about it.
"There's a lot of players here this week that are, you know, slightly shorter off the tee and can compete now because they can get the ball running out there."
Harrington heads into the weekend with an opportunity to improve on his best Masters finish.
He tied for fifth in 2002, but has missed two of four cuts since and hasn't finished better than 13th. But the two-time PGA Tour winner, who has 11 victories worldwide, figures he has two long days between him and his first major championship.
"I do expect the conditions to be equally as tough if not tougher on the weekend," said Harrington. "It's certainly a challenge. Every shot takes a lot of attention.
"There are possibilities of making birdies as long as you keep your momentum going and don't have a mishap. That's the great thing about this course, you do feel like you can shoot a good score and, if you don't play well, you feel like you will shoot a bad score."
Reach Tim Guidera at (912) 652-0352.
