AUGUSTA, Ga. -- In Ireland, where the emerald-green color of the grass matches the hue of the sparkling fairways at the Augusta National Golf Club, teenage phenom Rory McIlroy already has achieved something more noteworthy than a No. 17 spot in the world rankings: He has been bestowed the distinction of being the player most likely to challenge Tiger Woods' reign as the best player in the world. The anointment, of course, came from none other than Tiger Woods.

For now, though, Ireland already boasts a player who is performing at Tiger-like levels, and his name is Padraig Harrington. All he is trying to do at the 73rd Masters is win his third major in a row, something few players have had a chance to do in the long and storied history at Augusta National.

And nobody seems to be paying attention.

With so much of the spotlight on McIlroy, his younger, mop-haired countryman, and with Woods playing his first major since his dramatic playoff victory at the U.S. Open, Harrington flies almost undetected at the Masters.

That is fine by the 37-year-old Irishman, who remains more concerned with the state of his game than whether he should be perceived as a rival of the world's No. 1 player.

"I can't be a rival because, in the end, I'm always fighting with myself," Harrington said yesterday. "I don't really have a rival in that sense. I don't believe in trying to compete against one individual. I could turn up this week and say, well, I want to beat Tiger Woods. Well, maybe I beat him by a shot and he finishes 20th and I finish 19th. That's not much good to either of us.

"It's a bad mental outlook to be focusing on one person. The only person you focus on is yourself."

Harrington has done that better than most, going from a player who always seemed to contend but never win to a player who has won three of the past six majors, including the final two of 2008 -- the British Open and PGA Championship, both with Woods out with a knee surgery.

Now Harrington comes to Augusta National with a chance to make it three in a row, this time with Woods in the field. Since the Masters began in 1934, only two players have come to Augusta National with victories in each of the previous two majors -- Nick Price in 1995 and Woods in 2000. Woods, of course, completed the Tiger Slam by winning the Masters that year.

"Maybe I would have gone in a couple years ago with the thought that if I get lucky this week, I might win a major," Harrington said. "Now, I realize actually I can win majors within my own control. I know if I prepare right and play right and go out and play my golf, it's possible for me to win and be in control of winning."

The Paddy Slam: That's what they're calling Harrington's quest to win all four majors in succession.

It is not easy, according to the man who already has done it.

"It's hard to peak four straight times," Woods said. "There are a lot of factors that go into it -- having your game come together, playing well at the right time and, on top of that, getting the right breaks."

Harrington's sudden ascent to stardom was actually rooted in his near-collapse in the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie, where he nearly followed the path of Jean Van de Velde by hitting two balls in the Barry Burn on the final hole of the championship to force a playoff with Sergio Garcia. But, unlike Van de Velde, the foiled Frenchman who lost in a playoff with Paul Lawrie, Harrington outlasted Garcia in the four-hole playoff to claim his first major title.

Apparently, the stumble taught him how to finish off an opponent. In each of his two major victories last year, Harrington shot 32 each on the final nine holes at Royal Birkdale in the British Open and the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. In each, he had to overtake the 63-hole leader -- Greg Norman at the British Open and Sergio Garcia at the PGA Championship.

"Winning is a habit, and some people have that habit and have no understanding of losing," Harrington said. "I have plenty of understanding of losing. It was being used as a stick to beat me with."

Still, despite his .500 winning percentage in the past six majors and being named the PGA Tour's player of the year in 2008, Harrington probably remains the least appreciated player in golf. He is ranked No. 5 in the world, behind three players who did not win a major last year -- No. 2 Phil Mickelson, No. 3 Sergio Garcia and No. 4 Geoff Ogilvy.

It is as if his victories in the British Open and PGA Championship should carry an asterisk because Woods wasn't in the field.

"You know, at the end of the day, I can go home to Ireland and I can get Tiger Woods-esque attention in my country," Harrington said.