"I felt quite good," Harrington said after Friday's round. "When I got [the ball] in position, I hit a lot of really nice iron shots. I got a few breaks as well, during the round, which you generally always do when you shoot 65.
"Yeah, I'm definitely getting more comfortable with the golf course [Innisbrook in Tampa, Fla.]. But I also realize that, you know, obviously there will be two new pin positions Saturday and Sunday. So I will take kind of the attitude I've been taking for the first two days, which is fire away at [the pins] and not worry about it until I get up there. It has not cost me too badly so far."
So far. Ah, if only this had been a 36-hole championship. Harrington had a different perspective the next day.
"It was a tough day," Harrington said after Saturday's round. "I wasn't very coordinated today; struggled a bit. You know what, I fought hard on the back nine, created a lot of chances, didn't hole the putts and that was a bit disappointing. But I was never a bit too sure of myself today."
The lead that Harrington had taken onto the course Saturday - albeit only one stroke - was squandered, and he faced a 4-stroke gap between himself and new leader Jim Furyk. Harrington didn't muster any sort of charge on Sunday and dropped seven strokes behind Furyk, the medalist, at the event's end.
Harrington opened play on Thursday with 69, featuring an eagle-3 at the 11th hole. Whereas he'd done nothing spectacular on the front nine on Thursday (no birdies, no bogeys), he smoked it on Friday, carding five birdies against one bogey. He added two birdies on the backside for his 65 and sole possession of the lead.
A birdie at the first hole on Saturday bode well, but that would be the last stroke he'd trim off par until 16; in-between, he taken on a pair of bogeys. Furyk, playing one group ahead of Harrington and Carl Pettersson, could likewise only birdie the first hole; but he avoided Harrington's miscues and played the rest of the frontside evenly, placing him a stroke ahead at the turn. That's where he took off.
Furyk came up with birdies at 11, 12 and 15, while Harrington was mixing a birdie at 16 with a bogey at 18. Harrington never really got anything going on Sunday, either, combining four bogeys with only three birdies. Furyk, meanwhile, also stumbled his way to four bogeys on Sunday, but he filled in the gaps with six birdies and held on to defeat K.J. Choi by a stroke. Harrington settled for a share of eighth place, seven strokes behind Furyk.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Peter Lawrie and Gareth Maybin shared 10th place honors in the Troph
