Pádraig Harrington

Padraig Harrington has set the early pace as Tiger Woods completed his remarkable return at the Masters got underway on Thursday afternoon.

— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf)April 7, 2022 — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf)April 7, 2022 Harrington — who qualified for the major with a fourth place finish in last year’s US PGA Championship — got off to a brilliant start in his opening round at Augusta.

Harrington qualified courtesy of his tie for fourth in last year's US PGA Championship.

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The three-time major winner was among the early starters in Thursday’s first round and followed pars on the first two holes with birdies from close range on the third and fourth to set the early pace. McIlroy only realised Harrington was eligible for the year’s first major championship after they played a practice round together, Harrington having qualified courtesy of his tie for fourth in last year’s US PGA Championship.

Irish tee times: Padraig Harrington - 1.41pm; Shane Lowry - 3.31pm; Seamus Power - 5.54pm; Rory McIlroy - 7.33pm. Sport Newsletter. Get the best analysis and comment from our award-winning team of writers and columnists with our free newsletter.

US Masters US Masters

Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Seamus Power and Padraig Harrington are all in the field for the first major of the season at the famous venue.

While Padraig Harrington would be the oldest ever Masters winner if he was to pull off a shock at 50 years old. It is the only major McIlroy has yet to win and would be his first since 2014. Best Masters Finish: 4 (2015)

It's the 50-year-old's fifteenth outing in total in the tournament held annually at the prestigious Augusta National Golf Course in the Southern US state.

In other words, they don’t expect him to get close. The Masters is the only one of the four majors that is held on the same course every year, having been founded at the Augusta National Golf Club in 1934. The Masters is one of the four major golf championships, and one of three in the United States, which is held in the first complete week of April each year.

His presence in the field may have come as a surprise to Rory McIlroy, but Padraig Harrington made a brilliant start as the 86th Masters got under way at ...

The three-time major winner was among the early starters in Thursday’s first round and followed pars on the first two holes with birdies from close range on the third and fourth to set the early pace. McIlroy only realised Harrington was eligible for the year’s first major championship after they played a practice round together, Harrington having qualified courtesy of his tie for fourth in last year’s US PGA Championship. Harrington qualified courtesy of his tie for fourth in last year’s US PGA Championship.

Irish tee times: Padraig Harrington - 1.41pm; Shane Lowry - 3.31pm; Seamus Power - 5.54pm; Rory McIlroy - 7.33pm.

US Masters US Masters

The 86th edition of the Masters Tournament tees off today at the Augusta National in Georgia. Ireland have four representatives.

The 50-year-old's return to the Masters was made possible by his tied 4th in last year’s PGA Championship. The three-time major winner looked ahead to the Masters after he finished runner-up, "I’m not going there to make up the numbers. The 32-year-old comes into the first major of 2022 ranked ninth in the world. The 35-year-old is arguably the most in-form of the Irish golfers having finished second in February’s Honda Classic. He tied for second at the Rapiscan Systems Classic earlier this month. The world number 35 can have a great weekend if he utilises his world-class short game on the Augusta golf course.

The first major of the 2022 men's golf season gets underway in a rainy Augusta. Padraig Harrington is the first of the Irish in action, followed out by ...

An excellent par save from Harrington on the 9th after his drive had left him in the woods, buried in pine needles. He gets up and down from the front of the green to save par. Harrington has work to do on 10 after his approach trickled down the slope of the front of the green into the valley below.

His presence in the field may have come as a surprise to Rory McIlroy, but Padraig Harrington made a brilliant start as the 86th Masters got under way at ...

— The Masters (@TheMasters)April 7, 2022 — The Masters (@TheMasters)April 7, 2022 The first group teed off at 0830 local time (1330BST) after Tom Watson had joined Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player in acting as an honorary starter for the first time.

Harrington held the lead through 11 holes before back to back bogeys on 16 and 17 eventually saw him sign off with a 2-over 74.

I pushed it, and it went the wrong way, but I just wasn't committed to the line,” he said. You get out of position off the tee, and then I was out of position on the green, 3-putt.” A lot of the demons are buried at this stage,” he said, not letting his disappointment in his score Thursday get the better of him. “Besides the score, the rest of it was good. He splashed out beautifully to 3 feet but didn’t touch the hole with his par try. Between bogeys at 5 and 7, Harrington holed a 67-footer for par at the par-3 sixth.

Padraig Harrington landed a 67-foot putt to save par on the sixth hole in his opening round at The Masters on Thursday. After Harrington's tee-shot landed ...

But I guess he played pretty well in the PGA last year." After carding pars for the first two holes, he birdied the third and fourth to take an early lead. He earned an invitation by finishing fourth at the PGA Championship last year.

Lowry almost aces the fourth hole but double-bogey on 15th proves costly.

Lowry – who missed four greens with wedge approaches, and another two with an 8-iron and a 9-iron – headed to the range post-round to work on that area of his game. “I missed the fairway on the first and other than that I was pretty much down the middle. I put myself in position to have a good score and my approach play was pretty awful to be honest. “You hit good shots, and you think, ‘oh, that’s pretty easy’, and you hit a bad shot and get out of position, and you are going, ‘oh, my God, how could they put the pin there?’ If you are in position, it’s nice. In Shane Lowry’s case, an opening round of 73, one over par, was something of a roller-coaster ride. However, things started to unravel with a bogey on the 12th, where he hit his tee shot into a back bunker.

Irish tee times: Padraig Harrington - 1.41pm; Shane Lowry - 3.31pm; Seamus Power - 5.54pm; Rory McIlroy - 7.33pm.

US Masters US Masters

Irish tee times: Padraig Harrington - 1.41pm; Shane Lowry - 3.31pm; Seamus Power - 5.54pm; Rory McIlroy - 7.33pm.

US Masters US Masters