Triple Major winning Padraig Harrington knows what it means to a golfer when he wins the week before the season’s first Major – the Masters.

In 2000, Harrington journeyed to Brazil to compete in two new tournaments, the first in Sao Paulo and the second in Rio de Janeiro held in commemorate the discovery of Brazil by Pedro Alvares Cabral in 1500.

However there was no celebration for Harrington the first week with the Dubliner losing out in a play-off to England’s Roger Chapman who ended a run of 472 European Tour events to capture his only main Tour victory – the Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 Years Open.

Padraig Harrington adding Valero Texas Open to his 2013 schedule and looking to win the week before the Masters for only a second time in his career.

But in moving to Rio de Janeiro Harrington ended a four-year winless drought to capture his second European Tour title in defeating American Jerry Norquist in the city to host the 2016 Olympic Games and where golf will return to Olympics.

The next week Harrington after winning in Brazil he headed to Augusta National boasting something that no one else could boast that year in 2000 and that was arriving at his first-ever Masters as a last-up winner on route to finishing a credible 19th.

And with this year’s Masters to be Harrington’s 14th straight showing at Augusta National the now 41-year old is entering at Valero Texas Open for a first time in his career and hoping to then head to the Masters with victory in San Antonio.

Harrington was asked ahead of this weeks Northern Trust Open when he contests a tournament before the Masters what is on his mind.

“I think you’ll find that the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of the tournament the week before, you’re thinking about the Masters,” he said.

“Thursday morning, you tee it up, you’re only thinking about that tournament.  And until you feel like you can’t win that tournament, you’re only thinking about that tournament.

The minute you feel like you’re out of contention to win, then definitely your mind will wander back to the Masters.  You know, whatever that means; if it’s on the Sunday and you’re well out of contention and you’re hitting the shots you want to be hitting the following week, you might be doing more practice than necessarily you would be.

“But if you’ve got a chance of winning, you’ve got to take that chance.  There’s no tournament on the TOUR that you would sacrifice not winning it.  Wins don’t come that often, so you take every opportunity that you can get, and if you’re in with a chance, clearly in a perfect world, would you like to think, I can win the week before a major and the major.  You would like to feel like you can do it, and as every player’s ego will tell you, we all believe that we can and we all believe that we’ll take that chance if it comes around.

“Certainly as you’re in the tournament, you’re trying to win it and you’re not thinking about the following week.  Because wins don’t come around as often as we would like them to.”

And www.golfbytourmiss.com will join Harrington in also making a first appearance at the Valero Texas Open.