It's difficult, what with the US Masters creeping ever closer, and now just over a fortnight away, but Padraig Harrington is determined to stay in the present; especially for this week, as the Players' Championship - an event considered just one rung down from a major - will gauge exactly where his game is.
Never considered a fast starter, Harrington's year to date has seen him fail to deliver a top-10 finish in four outings. However, in completing the last nine holes of his last event, the Qatar Masters, in just 29 strokes, which gave him a tied-11th finish, there was evidence that his sharpness was returning.
Since then, Harrington has spent time in Largs, Scotland, with his coach Bob Torrance - "we worked on some straight-forward things," he said, "a little bit on my alignment and my right knee was straightening a bit and my wrist was breaking early" - and, upon arrival here, started working again with sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella.
"Yes," he said, "the early part of my season has been geared, in a yearly context, towards Augusta. But I hope to play well this week too. Of course, I'm looking forward to Augusta but it is important that I stay in the present. I've got to concentrate on this week and, then, next week (when he plays in the BellSouth in Atlanta)."
Out on the range yesterday, Harrington's Deep Red driver dispatched one ball after another into the distance, with just the slightest of draws. "I'm happy with what I'm working on," he confessed.
"It's just a question of finding a balance, of not over-practising and to be ready for this tournament and ready for the Masters." The slight adjustments made when working with Torrance were to be expected, insisted the player.
"Those sort of things happen at the start of the season. When you do so much work over the winter, in the break away from tournament play, you overdo some things. You come out and the first couple of months you find yourself ironing out the things you've done during the winter so they are compatible with how you are swinging and what you are doing."
He added: "I couldn't be pleased with how I've started the season, but I'm probably better than I've done in other years. That's the nature of the game, and I just have to be patient. It is not a question of being happy, it is just how it is. It has always been that way for me. I tend to start my season later than others, and it is a balancing act. You can't expect to play your best all year, you've got to build up. But I would hope to play well this week. It is a fantastic course, one where you have to play every kind of shot."
Harrington has been paired with Americans Duffy Waldorf and Craig Barlow for the opening two rounds - teeing off at 6.25 p.m. (Irish time) in the first round, and 1.40 p.m. (Irish time) in the second round. Darren Clarke has been paired with David Duval and Garret Willis, teeing off tomorrow at 12.50 p.m. (Irish time) and on Friday at 5.35 p.m.
