One chance, one putt, to get in on the margin and with only the most remote possibility of contending for the European Open title. It takes a strong mental attitude, character and - undoubtedly - good fortune.

When Padraig Harrington addressed a 25-foot birdie putt on the home green only one outcome would suffice. Three feet from the hole he began to move forward, and the gallery's roar pre-empted a trademark grin. He had cheated what seemed inevitable, a weekend away from The K Club.

Instead that birdie ensured his survival, slap bang on the cut of two over par.

Typically understated, Harrington refused to embellish his final act yesterday evening. "It was a nice putt to hole. I didn't really think two over would be good enough. Dave (McNeilly, his caddie) told me going down there (the 18th fairway) that two over should be good enough.

"I hit a beautiful wedge shot (101 yards) in and couldn't believe it went so far by. It's a lottery, holing a putt like that going down a green with 18 inches of break. It went in flying, so it had to hit the centre of the hole."

There was a curate's egg quality to Harrington's one-over-par 73. The bald statistics showed five birdies and six bogeys, but the Dubliner remained unfazed by his topsy-turvy fortunes.

"I'm happy with the way I'm playing. Still, I wouldn't have wanted another two days off, having had the break. I want to be out playing golf. My game will get better on the golf course rather than on the range. I didn't need two more practice days, I needed two more competitive rounds."

His putting was a cameo of his overall game, holing some clutch putts but brittle on other occasions, particularly from short range.

"I did a bit of both. I missed a few short ones. I'm not very focused, not trusting the lines. There's nothing wrong with the putting stroke."

Nor with the greens, according to Harrington, who explained that the ball rolled well.

Asked to analyse why he languishes 11 shots behind the leaders, he offered: "I'm swinging the club well but I'm not performing well. Shots like the last, where you hit a perfect sandwedge 25 feet past, that's rubbish. It's sharpness. Every time I missed the fairway I got stuck in the face of a bunker or beside a tree. On another day you can get up around the greens and chip and putt. Every time I hit a bad shot it was a dropped stroke."

He cited the example of playing partner Paul Golding, winner of last week's French Open, when discussing the vagaries of the sport, where form and fortune ebb and flow on a weekly tide.

"It's why one week a guy can win and another he can miss the cut. Golf is very much like that. You need a few bounces and a few putts like that on the last to go in.

"I'm not hitting my wedges close; short-game-wise I'm not doing enough of that. I would say that I'm swinging the club better. But playing well doesn't get you anywhere if you're not sharp. I've to pay more attention to my short game."

So what does the weekend hold?

"I don't think I can win from here. I'm looking forward to playing two good rounds of golf for my personal satisfaction."

It's not an ideal scenario, especially given an obvious desire to perform well at home, but those who hole 25-foot putts on the 18th to make the final two rounds embrace less rarefied objectives.