A double-bogey 6 at the third hole was followed by bogey-6 at the fourth, a sequence that was repeated at the sixth and seventh for a loss of six strokes. He played the rest of the round one under par to finish the day at 77. Preceding that were rounds of 69, 69 and 72, which left him 11 strokes off the low number.
Rory McIlroy didn’t get as much out of Houston as he could have. He missed the cut by just a stroke after firing rounds of 74 and 73.
Perhaps Harrington and McIlroy, as well as Graeme McDowell, will prosper in an environment that seems sure to be focused almost entirely on Tiger Woods as play begins in Augusta on Thursday.
