IS THERE a new, more confident swagger? Is the smile wider? These days Pádraig Harrington is a wanted man, picked out by autograph hunters - "Hey, Paddy!" - and ambushed by radioheads and television crews under the old Eisenhower oak outside the clubhouse here in Georgia.

But, then, it's better to be wanted than ignored, and Harrington has grown comfortably into his status as golf's most recent addition to the elite club of major champions.

On Monday evening he spent hour upon hour on the practice putting green, most of it serious work, with caddie Ronan Flood using an alignment aid and a piece of string to make life easier for his master.

Yesterday, though, it was time for Harrington to get reacquainted with a course that still holds mystique.

"Just about everything here is perfect," he confessed.

Harrington became the third first-time major winner of 2007 when he claimed the British Open at Carnoustie last July. A sense of order was restored in the final major last year, when Tiger Woods won the US PGA. Now, Harrington comes into his ninth Masters anxious to take the next step and prove he isn't a one-hit wonder.

"I think you're always aware of the next major, and this has been the next major for seven months. And, yeah, I've been thinking about it for that long," said Harrington.

The Dubliner has made some equipment changes in the past couple of weeks in fine-tuning for this tournament. He's put a 64-degree wedge into his bag, gone back to a longer-shafted driver and put in a stronger three-wood.

Of those changes, he added: "I've moved up a gear these past couple of weeks."

Harrington has been paired with Mike Weir and Jeev Milkha Singh for the opening round, in the group immediately ahead of a certain Tiger Woods and all the brouhaha that entails.

But he is on new ground this week at Augusta National. Unlike his previous appearances (his best finish was tied-fifth in 2002 and his only other top-10 was last year), he is here as a major champion.

Is there a difference?

"It's always a magical place, somewhere you can't wait to get to . . . . Maybe it is a slightly different coming back as a major champion in terms of a little bit more expectation.

"Winning at Carnoustie does a couple of things for me. One, obviously, is that I can look back on that and use it to judge what preparation is good for me.

"And the second thing, which I think is unquantifiable, and I will only find out in time, is, having won one major, if I am in contention again will I be a little more relaxed about it?

"But I won't know until I am in that position again, whether it is a bonus having won one major before. I assume it is."

One thing Harrington has learned, however, is that it is pointless worrying about Woods when it comes to these things.

"When it comes to Tiger, you have to do your own thing. You've got to play your own game. That's the only way to deal with it. If it doesn't come up good enough, shake the other guy's hand.

"There's no point worrying about somebody else. Tiger's a great player, at the top of his game. He's brought the standard of everyone else up. But, you know, just do your own thing."

Doing his own thing. It's Harrington's way. Always was. Always will be. It's worked so far.