This will be Harrington's 10th trip to Augusta. He has had three top 10s there, including a tie for seventh in 2006 and a tie for fifth last April. If the getting-closer pattern holds, he could be in the the thick of it this time. Some have grumbled about the course changes in recent years; some contend they have taken shot-making drama and back-nine roars out of the old Fruitlands Nursery. But Harrington likes the playing field.

“I think the changes they've made are fantastic,” he said. “I think when I first went there, I hit sand wedge into No. 1, I hit pitching wedge into No. 5, 9-iron into No. 11, lob wedge into No. 18. These are not the clubs that were being hit into the holes when I watched it on TV.

“What they did was they tended to put the pins very close to the slopes, and the course was tricky. Since they've lengthened the golf course, it made a bigger, (more) solid challenge. They use fairer pin positions. So to me, the golf course got stronger but fairer.”

Coming into the Shell Houston Open, Harrington's game was becoming more solid: a tie for 33rd, followed by a tie for 20th, followed by a tie for 11th at Bay Hill. Perhaps more importantly, he is becoming more focused. He explained how the two go hand in hand:

“When you're competitive, you pick a golf club and you commit to it more, and I'm not quite as committed as I could be at times,” Harrington said. “I'm doubting whether it's going to carry the bunker or, you know, whether it's the right club or ... sometimes I change my mind and may not allow enough for the wind. All that sort of stuff is lack of competitive play.

“The week a guy wins, he doesn't do any of that sort of stuff. For whatever reasons, he's right in there, and it's not that he's swinging the club any better, but he's trusting that he's swinging the club better.”

Perhaps the run will end at Augusta. Perhaps the wear and tear of what he did last summer will catch up to Harrington. It's a lot to ask — three majors in succession. No one knows better than Woods, who won a fourth in a row with his 2001 Masters victory.

“I remember in 2000 going into 2001, the time that it took to get from the PGA to the Masters just seemed like an eternity,” Woods said, “because people kept asking questions each and every day about what do you think about Augusta.”

So, if you're a creature of habit, if you don't think of Padraig Harrington when you think of golf slams, if you're not riding on the Paddy Wagon to Augusta, that's OK. Winning three of the last six majors, winning two in succession, has not caused Harrington to loose his grip on reality. He comes to Augusta with his Irish eyes wide open.

“It doesn't have to happen this time around,” he said. “I'm not going to get drawn into this — that if I go to the Masters and I don't win that there's a failure in that, or that it takes away in any way from the last two majors.”

Paddy Slam or not.

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