Padraig Harrington was in upbeat mood for the forthcoming WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship after tying for third place in the Northern Trust Open last night.
The Open champion birdied four of the last nine holes for a three-under-par 68 at Riviera Country Club, finishing five strokes behind winner Phil Mickelson. The result moves the Dubliner back into the top 10 of the latest world rankings.
"I'm happy with the performance," Harrington told reporters after posting a seven-under total of 277. "Today was a little bit up and down but it's early season. This is what I'm here for.
"I tried to be aggressive, go out there and maybe shoot six or seven under par and see what happens. It was a question of knuckling down and getting the best out of the round I could.
"It's good to be in these positions where at least I'm being tested. If I was down in 30th or 40th place, it wouldn't show up as evidently as when you're trying not to make mistakes as well as trying to go forward.
"Today was a good return," added the world number 11, who covered the back nine in four-under 32. "Certainly at times, concentration wasn't 100 percent but that's what you get early on in the year."
Harrington is scheduled to face American Jerry Kelly in Wednesday's opening round at Dove Mountain's Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Arizona.
Although he has been battling flu for a week, he is in confident mood for the first World Golf Championships (WGC) event of the season after making consecutive starts on the 2008 PGA Tour.
"I'm happy how things are going along," the 36-year-old Dubliner said. "Having played a couple of weeks is good. I could be a little bit better and I need a little bit more form but, at the moment, it's not bad."
"I have a tendency to overdo things and I've got to make sure I just take it easy for the next couple of days. My game is good enough; just don't overdo it between now and Wednesday."
Harrington has reached the quarter-finals twice in eight appearances at the Accenture Match Play Championship and knows that upsets are always possible.
"It's always tough going into a match," he said. "If I come up against somebody who is in real good form, I don't know if I have the ability to raise my game at this time of the year. But certainly the first two weeks are encouraging."
