Jim Furyk

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Paddy Slam ended with a loud thwack Saturday underneath — and against — the Georgia pines on the second hole at Augusta National.

Padraig Harrington, who came to this Masters following wins at the British Open and the PGA Championship last year, was just seven back to start his third round, but a quadruple-bogey 9 at No. 2 took him to 2 over par. He rallied to get to 1 under for the tournament, but the damage had been done.

“Obviously my chance went on the second hole,” said Harrington, who finished with a solid 73. “There was not too much stress after that.”

After a par at No. 1, he pulled his tee shot left on the 575-yard, par-5 second. Taking an aggressive line with a utility wood from the pine straw, Harrington ricocheted his second shot off a pine tree and landed in a hazard among the azaleas.

“As I went to hit it, there was a root about a foot in front of it,” said Harrington, who said he did not see the fairway wood from the trees as an overly aggressive gamble. “I just backed out of it a bit because of the root and pushed it right into the tree.”

After dropping in the original spot, Harrington again used a utility wood and again hit a pine tree flush. It caromed down near an azalea and forced him to punch out.

“You live and you learn,” he said. “You would think I would know that after 37 years, but I learned it twice today.”

He was just short of the green with his sixth shot. Unable to get up and down from there, Harrington made a 3-foot putt to avoid matching David Duval (2006) and Sam Byrd (1948), who posted Masters-low 10s at No. 2.

Kim the birdie machine

After setting a tournament mark for birdies in a round with 11 Friday, Masters rookie Anthony Kim was attacking flags and the record book again Saturday.

Kim notched five more birdies to match Tiger Woods’ mark for most in consecutive rounds. Woods did it during his record-setting win in 1997.

Kim, however, likely will not enjoy the same level of overall tournament success. His mercurial scorecard of 18 birdies, 24 pars, 10 bogeys and two double bogeys in 54 holes left him at 4 under heading into today’s final round.

Hello, Mr. Hamilton

Todd Hamilton came from virtually nowhere to win the 2004 British Open. He had returned to nowhere.

Hamilton, who is in the final year of his five-year Masters exemption for his lone major championship, is on course to be back at Augusta National next year. After falling to 373rd in the world golf rankings entering this week’s Masters, he carded an even-par 72 Saturday and is tied for sixth at 6 under.

“On paper, my year has not been that great,” said Hamilton, who would qualify for next year’s Masters by finishing in the top 16. “I don’t think I had any expectations (this week). I was just happy to have a chance. I know that this could be my last one, and I wanted to play like it wasn’t going to be my last one.”

Mize still under par

Larry Mize talked about the Champions Tour earlier this week. Saturday, he spoke about winning the Masters.

“I felt like I played pretty solid,” Mize said. “I just didn’t take advantage of a few things.”

Mize, who opened with a 65 Thursday, continued his best showing here since 1994, when he finished third at 6 under. Mize posted an even-par 72 Saturday and was tied for 25th at 1 under.

“I think everything I’ve been working on the all year is kicking in,” the 1987 Masters champ said. “I think it can continue to get better.”

Interesting pairing II

Woods’ pairing with Phil Mickelson will get a lot of the buzz today, but the penultimate group of Chad Campbell and Jim Furyk could produce some fireworks, too.

Furyk, who is at 8 under and three back of the leaders, said he enjoys Campbell but will try to focus on himself.

“He’s a very well-liked person. I think people tend to collect around Chad,” Furyk said. “I’ll play the best I can and try to jockey myself into a good position down the stretch.”