PADRAIG HARRINGTON starts a run of four American tournaments in a row today with the calm disposition that only comes from knowing your last three Tour titles were all Majors.

Bringing his game to a peak at the Masters in April, when he will try to become just the third player in history to win three different Majors in a row, is what it is all about.

To emulate Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods, who at Augusta in 2001 went on to complete the Tiger Slam', would be a dream come true for Harrington.

But the reality of the moment is that, in the continued injury absence of Woods, he is inevitably hotly tipped for the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines.

The San Diego course, of course, is where Woods, effectively on one leg, achieved his unforgettable 14th Major at last June's US Open.

It is also where he won the last four Buicks, six in all - plus six world junior titles.

Harrington finished 36th last summer and has never previously played this tournament, but his two Opens and especially his Open and US PGA double mean his every move is now followed.

On his first appearance of the year he finished joint fifth in Abu Dhabi three weeks ago. The result was fine, but he felt he had left plenty of room for improvement.

"There's work to be done - a lot of work to be done," said the world No.3.

"The score (17-under-par) flatters me to be honest.

"There were plenty of mistakes, but you obviously get a good idea how you stand after your winter break and I'm happy with what I saw.

"With two more weeks of practice hopefully I'll be a little bit more comfortable getting into the flow of things."

TENNIS: Jamie Murray crashed out in the first round of the men's doubles at the Zagreb Indoors as he and partner Dusan Vemic lost 6-4, 7-5 to third seeds Philipp Petzschner and Alex Peya.