A reporter asked Padraig Harrington Tuesday why there were only a dozen patrons following him on the golf course yesterday, and the winner of the past two majors did not miss a beat.

“I was playing at five o’clock in the evening, and it was cold,” said Harrington.

But while those are certainly good excuses for his drawing such a small crowd, they are also a reflection of the way the personable Irishman is still able to fly under the radar. The PGA Tour’s Player of the Year in 2008, Harrington is trying to become just the fourth man since the mid-20th century to win three consecutive major championships.

So, much of the talk at the start of Masters Week centers on the return of Tiger Woods and the early-season play of Phil Mickelson. In fact, Harrington may not even be the most talked about Irishman at Augusta this year, as 19-year-old phenom Rory McIlroy generates a lot of pre-tournament buzz himself.

None of that fazes Harrington, of course, who remains his typically steady self, focused only on what he can do and control. Worrying about how many people are watching him play, or whether Tiger, Phil and Rory are getting most of the attention, is the least of his concerns.

“I’ve won three majors,” Harrington says. “It’s a dream come true. And I am fully concentrating on what I’m doing in my tournaments and my career. The outside stuff, I cannot control, so I am not too fussed.”

And he knows that all he has to do to get a few more folks following him around Augusta National this week – and a few more talking about him - is make sure he keeps playing as well as he has the past couple of majors.