The old work ethic, instilled from an early age, is what made him, so sentiment doesn’t enter into the equation for Pádraig Harrington.
Someone like Dean Martin might sing about absence making the heart grow fonder but the reality for the Dubliner on returning to Augusta National, having missed last year's tournament, is that it is all about getting his head in the right place to contend. He means business.
Last year was a lost year as far as Harrington's Masters ambitions were concerned.
For the first time since 2000 he was an armchair viewer. He enjoyed it. He found it exciting. But it wasn’t the same. So now he is back. That out-of-the-blue win in the Honda Classic last month has revived his career, raised the bar. It has earned him an invitation back to golf’s hallowed ground and he doesn’t intend to waste it.
Preparations
Harrington isn't here to smell the azaleas. His preparations, based on experience built up over the years and a number of yardage books that resemble text books for applied maths, are designed to have the mind and body fresh and able: he limited himself to just nine holes on Monday, playing the back nine with Shane Lowry; didn't play the course at all yesterday, deciding to spend a couple of hours chipping and putting, and plans to play just nine holes today as well as the Par 3 contest.
As nice an experience as it was, the drive back down Magnolia Lane on Monday didn’t impact on Harrington as much as the welcome that awaited him. Fellow players came over to welcome him back like a long-lost son.
“I haven’t been away that long (just one year), but the welcome I got was appreciated,” he admitted.
Out on the course only one change stood out. In his absence an ice storm two winters ago led to the demise of the famed Eisenhower Tree that once stood on the 17th fairway. Aesthetically, it was nice; but for many golfers it was a nuisance that caused too many second thoughts.
Tune-up
Harrington’s final tune-up in Houston last week didn’t go as planned. Sure, he made the cut. Sure, he was lingering around the business end of the leaderboard going into Saturday’s third round. In the end he finished towards the bottom but allowed his mind to start thinking of the shots he would need in Augusta.
“Once it went, it went quickly,” he observed of that finish, “and I definitely was more in tune about coming here.”
He added: “Experience is a very big factor here. It is tough for anyone who hasn’t played here before, when they put a certain (flag placement) in and you are not quite in an ideal position, where do you hit it?
“Because most of the pins here you either hit it close and the bail-out is not, ‘I will just hit it in the middle of the green’, because that doesn’t work. You might be better off missing the green in the right place rather than hitting it on the green in the wrong place.”
It is Harrington’s 15th appearance in the Masters and he has two top-five finishes here. Absence hasn’t made the heart grow fonder, it has made him more determined to make the most of his time here. “I just want to get my head in the game Thursday through to Sunday. I just want to get my preparation right so that when I finish up on Sunday I don’t want to have any regrets or be saying, ‘I should have done it this way’. ”
