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Augusta National

Encouraging signs for Harrington ahead of trip to Augusta

The Dubliner finished up in a tie for eighth place at the Shell Houston Open, nine shots behind winner Phil Mickelson.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON LOOKS to be finding form at the perfect time as he capped an encouraging week in Texas with a final round of two-under at the Shell Houston Open, finishing the tournament in joint-eighth place on 11-under par.

The Dubliner was in contention heading into the final day of play as he lay just four strokes behind overnight leaders Phil Mickelson and Scott Verplank on Sunday morning.

Although Harrington began his afternoon solidly with three birdies in his opening five holes, he couldn’t quite keep pace with Mickelson as Augusta’s defending champion posted five consecutive birdies down the home stretch on his way to a winning total of 20-under par.

Nor could Verplank who had to settle for a share of second with fellow American Chris Kirk after bogies on 14 and 16 killed any hopes he may have had of recording a famous victory.

Moments after his final putt dropped, Lefty was already thinking about Augusta.

“I’ve got a big event next week and it’s time,” he said. “As much as I loved winning here and I’ll look back on this in seven, eight days, this being a very special day. Right now, you know, I’ve got some work to do.”

He’ll not only arrive with a new trophy, but also a notable distinction.

The win moved Mickelson’s world ranking to No. 3, while Tiger Woods dropped to No. 7. It’s the first time Mickelson has been ahead of Woods in the ranking since the week before Woods won the 1997 Masters for his first major championship.

“I haven’t looked at the rankings and so forth,” Mickelson said. “Right now, this has been an awesome week, a lot of fun. I’ve got some work to do when (Monday) comes around. It’s not like I can celebrate and enjoy the victory. There’s some work to be done to get ready for Thursday.”

Lefty is hoping he can repeat some history at Augusta this week. The 39-time tour winner is the last player to win the week prior to a Masters victory, capturing the BellSouth Classic in 2006 before earning his second green jacket. The Houston Open became the run-up event to Augusta in 2007.

While many top players, including Woods and world No. 1 Martin Kaymer sat out this week, Mickelson saw no disadvantage in coming here and trying to win. Anthony Kim won last year and finished third at the Masters.

“I think it’s nothing but a plus to be able to gain some momentum,” Mickelson said. “especially given that I haven’t had the results and the scores that I wanted earlier in the year. It gives me a little bit of momentum.”

– Additional reporting by AP