Harrington birdies the final hole to safely make cut

Just as Padraig Harrington sank a 15-footer for birdie on the last hole of his second round, and so ensured that he would survive the cut for a second straight year at the US Masters, the unmistakable roar of "Maith an Fear" came from his supporters by the greenside in appropriate recognition of his endurance.

"It's never easy living on the bubble," admitted Harrington, after shooting a second round 69 for level-par 144, "and it means a lot to make the cut. It's a matter of personal pride. I did a lot of things right, was very solid off the tee but, on the back nine, I started to get a bit defensive with my putts because I knew I was close to the cut."

As it transpired, that final birdie gave the Dubliner a one shot safety cushion, finishing in tied-34th place of the 47 players who survived. "I'm not giving myself any goals for the weekend. I've been working on some things, and you need tournament play to bring them on, but it is certainly nice to make it into the weekend. I'd have been very disappointed if I hadn't made it."

After his opening round 75 on Thursday - which included a disastrous back-nine of 40 - Harrington could have been forgiven for feeling downbeat.

Instead, his outward journey gave him considerable reason for optimism. He picked up a birdie at the second and then rounded off that outward half with another birdie at the ninth to turn in two-under for the day, one-over for the tournament, and a further birdie at the 10th kept his momentum going.

At the 11th, he had a 15footer for birdie but left it short. "That was the first defensive putt I hit all day. I always felt that one over would be good enough to make the cut, and a defensive edge crept into my game there," he said.

Then, at the 155-yard 12th, he went down the shaft on an eight-iron but the wind fooled him and the ball carried 173 yards into the azaleas and dogwood.

He got lucky. When he got to his ball, it was sitting on top of two twigs and he had to got through two bushes - but, crucially, he had a backswing and played the ball on to the green, took two putts and walked away with a bogey that could have been worse.

He holed a 15-footer for birdie at the 15th but the rollercoaster ride continued when his tee-shot at the 16th hole finished in a hole. "I wasn't sure if it was an old sprinkler head, but it meant I had to play out with a wedge as if it were a putter."

In the end, he had to sink a 15-foot putt for bogey before finishing off with the birdie at the last.