US Masters: The laugh was genuinely infectious, from the pit of his muscled stomach. It's almost as if the grounds of Augusta National Golf Club have offered a sanctuary from the outside world, a place where he can focus on that personal quest to win a major.

For Padraig Harrington, the drive down Magnolia Lane - that avenue of 61 large magnolia trees that measures 330 yards from the chaos and neon signs of Washington Road to the clubhouse - has become ever more familiar and welcoming with the passing years.

Back in 2000, not so fresh from making the trip up from South America where he'd won a mouthful of a tournament by the name of the Brazil Sao Paulo 500 Years Open the previous day, Harrington first made that drive up golf's most revered roadway.

"It's still very special to drive in the gates," said Harrington, "but I will never have that first experience back . . . my enthusiasm to be here doesn't get old, but I've more expectations. It's probably got a little more serious (for me) during the five years."

Just as the Dubliner's status has improved to the point where he is now sixth in the official world rankings, expectations have indeed risen.

When he arrived here for the first time half-a-decade ago, he'd just broken into the world's top 50. A player on the move, but still "star struck" by what he encountered once he entered the grounds.

As he recalled, "It seems you've come from a world outside where you're running around and it is all madness and you drive up and it is all peaceful and serene. I was a kid and star-struck and the first person I met was the president of the Golfing Union of Ireland at the time (Paddy Murphy) and he introduced me to Sam Snead.

"So the first person who I didn't know that I met was Sam Snead and I sat down and talked to him for a while at the table and that was kind of special. That memory is as good as it gets."

Time for an American journalist to pipe in, intrigued by Harrington's portrayal of the meeting. "Given your accent and Sam Snead's accent," he asked, "can you tell us how that conversation went?" It was then that Harrington gave one of those belly-laughs that can be as useful as a gym workout.

"You know what?" replied Harrington, "I didn't even have to understand a word he was saying. I was too awestruck. But for a person like myself who is normally running around like a headless chicken, that was the one bit of quiet I had in all of the madness that was going on in my head."

Nowadays, Harrington is far more acquainted with the nuances of Augusta National, less inclined to be star-struck.

The business at hand is a serious one, and he knows from the past that there can be no room for slip-ups. Yet, for some reason, it is the memory of bad shots rather than good ones that are lodged in his memory bank.

"It's amazing, I can remember all of the bad shots everyone's hit around here . . . that's the one thing about Augusta, you carry the baggage of all the other players out there. Who can forget Seve (Ballesteros) going in the water on 15? If you're standing there on Sunday with a four-iron in your hand off a down slope, what's the first thought that's going to come into your mind?"

Other incidents?

"Fred Couples on 12 (in 1992). I know he got away with it, but you know you won't get away with it. On 13, I probably carry my own baggage," added Harrington, referring to the triple-bogey eight he had there in the third round in 2002 when he still secured his best ever finish in the tournament, finishing tied-fifth behind winner Tiger Woods.

This year, Harrington comes into the tournament on the back of a first win on the US Tour - in last month's Honda Classic - but also with the recent news that his father, Paddy, is unwell.

"My dad has made great improvement, he's very comfortable at home. He's looking and feeling a lot better," said Harrington.

"I was very flat all the way through the Players (at Sawgrass, two weeks ago). I was obviously very high after the win at the Honda and then got a very quick low two days later that obviously knocked back my whole central nervous system.

"The question is, can I recover in a three-week spell? I don't know, that's just not to be known. As regards actual playing, I'll be doing my own thing. I'll be working on the right things so that I'll be focused and not have a problem in the sense of my mind straying. It could be a problem emotionally if I do happen to get into contention with a few holes to go (on Sunday). We'll wait and see how I get on, how I handle it, if I do get into that situation."

On a more light-hearted note, Harrington goes into today's par-three competition - which he has won for the past two years - aware there is a so-called jinx on anyone who wins that particular event going on to win the Masters itself. He, for one, will be trying to win again.

"I've never hit a golf shot in my life where I have not been trying. The only way I can't try and win the par-three competition is if I don't put my name down on the sheet. But this superstition thing is all baloney. How could winning a tournament on a Wednesday affect how you play on a Thursday? That's rubbish."

Instead, Harrington wants to establish a new superstition. That of winning the par-three for a third straight year . . . and then going on to win the Masters.