RORY McIlroy missed the cut in his final warm-up for the Masters but Pádraig Harrington is flying high as he prepares to return to Augusta after a seven-year absence.

As veteran Harrington (50) opened with a five-under 67 to share the lead with Tim Herron in the Rapiscan Systems Classic on the PGA Tour Champions, McIlroy followed a 72 with a one-over 73 to miss the cut by two shots in the Valero Texas Open - his first missed cut worldwide since the abrdn Scottish Open last summer.

The Holywood star skipped last week's WGC Dell Technologies Match Play and opted to play the week before the Masters for the first time in eight years. Scores

His goal was to play four competitive strokeplay rounds and use the tournament as a “good guide to see where my game is, especially if you're having to hit shots under pressure to try to win a golf tournament.”

If he was looking for a confidence boost heading to Augusta National, his plan backfired as he hit just four fairways and ranked 101st for strokes gained approach and 103rd for strokes gained putting.

After opening with a 72, he needed a sub-par round to make the weekend but bogeyed the par-five second and struggled to hit the ball close from the rough, dropping another shot at the 12th.

He almost pitched in for an eagle at the 366-yard 17th but after tapping in from five inches for birdie to get back to one-over, he hooked his drive into the hazard at the 18th and did well to escape with a par five after a penalty drop.

If he wins the Masters, he will be the first player to do so the week after missing the cut since Angel Cabrera in 2009.

Texan Ryan Palmer shot 66 to lead by two strokes on 10-under at TPC San Antonio from Kevin Chappell, Matt Kuchar and Dylan Frittelli but Graeme McDowell missed the one-under cut by six strokes, carding a 75 to finish on five-over.

If McIlroy and McDowell struggled, it was all smiles from Harrington as he hit 13 of 14 fairways and made an eagle three, four birdies and one bogey in a 67 to share the lead with Heron at Grand Bear Golf Club in Biloxi.

The Dubliner has no top-10 finishes from three starts since turning 50 last August but he used his power well on a less claustrophobic course than he’s faced so far.

“I like the golf course, this course suits me,” said Harrington, who will be playing the Masters for the first time since 2015.

“It's my fourth Champions Tour event and I found them interesting. Some of the golf courses certainly I've gone and said, well, kind of tough for me, but this one I came out and said, I like the look of this, it suits me.

"I've got quite an advantage off the tee in places, so I was confident going out there.”

Harrington excels on tough courses but finds low scoring affairs on the PGA TOUR Champions more of a challenge, especially now that his long game is a greater strength than his wedge play and putting.

“Yeah, these guys shooting 18-under-par for three rounds most weeks, or at least 15 for three rounds, that's a lot of birdies,” he said. “You know, somewhat my game has kind of got a bit anti-bogey.

“On the PGA Tour, I'm only making three or four birdies a round at most, two or three actually being generous. I've just got to get used to making lots of birdies again and making some eagles as well because the par 5s are an opportunity.”

As for the benefits of contending the week before a major, he had no doubts.

“Standing over a shot and not having any mental interference, if I can do that this week under pressure, that would stand me well going into next week because I'll be nervous the next two days now that I'm in the lead and I've got something to hold onto, something I don't want to lose,” Harrington explained.

“So that's great preparation, it's great mental preparation. From my past experience, that's kind of the way I like it. You can get yourself mentally sharp, it doesn't matter what golf course you're on.”