"I was sharp enough. I made sure I prepared reasonably well," he said after holing a monster 40-foot birdie putt from off the green at the final hole at Sawgrass.

In an ideal world, Harrington would prefer not to come into the richest event in the history of golf without a competitive round under his belt in nearly a month.

However, the crowded schedule, with so many big tournaments on the calendar, left him with little choice but to take a lengthy break after the US Masters.

"It's hard to get a good schedule," he said. "The break was needed. I'm only going to have one more two-week break between now and December."

Harrington made a great start with birdies at the first two holes on a benign morning but, on a course where danger lurks everywhere, flawless rounds are few and far between.

The Irishman's card revealed four bogeys, including a three-putt at the par-three 17th, the famous island hole.

But the long putt at the last more than made amends for the five-footer that he missed at the previous hole.

"I was miserable walking off the 17th and happy walking off the 18th," he said.

Harrington's schedule has become more crowded than ever due to his decision to play the two weeks immediately before each major.

Therefore this is the start of a stretch of five tournaments in six weeks.

He will play next week's Irish Open, have a week off, and then play his way into the US Open, which this year will be played at Torrey Pines just outside San Diego in southern California.