Padraig Harrington is happy for Tiger Woods to absorb all the media attention at next week’s Masters, as it allows him go quietly about the business of trying to win his first green jacket.

"From the point of competing to win The Masters, the less stressful a week I have the better," Harrington told the Scotsman.

"It's nice when you can go into any tournament and prepare without having any outside expectations.

"There has been a lot of talk about Tiger's return. There'll always be a lot of talk about Tiger and it does take a little bit of the pressure off the rest of us.

"It will help other people go about their business.”

Harrington is coming into form at just the right time.  After contending in the last round of his last two PGA events and finishing in the top 10 in both, the triple major winner took a week off to recharge the batteries ahead of the first major of the year.

The 38-year-old is in Texas this week, and after two consecutive solid rounds of 69 is in a tie for eighth place on six under par, three shots behind halfway leader Bryce Molder.

Rory McIlroy just failed to make a cut on two over par after rounds of 74 and 73 and has not had the best run of form ahead of next week's trip to Augusta National.