Padraig Harrington's nightmare run of missed cuts went to five in Paris on Friday - just as many as Tiger Woods has failed to make in his entire 13-year professional career.
With his Open hat-trick bid less than two weeks away, Harrington's fate was effectively sealed when he drove out of bounds and ran up a triple-bogey eight at the 14th hole of his second round in the French Open Alstom at Le Golf National.
The Dubliner, who finished with a 75 for five over par, freely conceded on Wednesday that he was running out of time to get his game in good enough shape to triumph again at Turnberry.
Now he has only next week's Irish PGA championship to find a bit of competitive confidence before heading to Scotland.
Harrington, who last played four rounds of an event at the Players Championship in Florida in early May, left a tournament which at the halfway stage sees Argentina's Rafa Echenique - last week's albatross man in Munich - take over at the top from German Martin Kaymer.
It was more his putting than his eight which troubled the three-time major winner.
"I was never comfortable on the greens all week," said Harrington, who felt his three-putt bogey at the 13th to drop to two over was the crucial mistake. "I'm hoping that's all it was. I just struggled - just putted terribly and didn't get any confidence. That's reflected in the score.
"It showed up the weakness in my putting. I've been happy with it and still am physically, but it certainly got on top of me this week and that's where the focus will be.
"You don't just click, but I have another week. The last six months the focus has been on my swing and definitely now I will be firmly focused on my previous strength - a good, sharp short game.
"I'm not worried about how hard they set up Turnberry. I will be more worried about how I am - but I can manage any challenge."
03 July, 2009