To watch Padraig Harrington going about his business in the second round of the French Open yesterday was to witness a player walking in treacle. The Open champion has found himself in something of a sticky situation.

In 12 days, the Irishman will begin the defence of his Open crown at Turnberry, south of Glasgow, but even his renowned powers of recovery are going to be tested to the limit after his fifth missed cut in succession.

Harrington’s form has deserted him so badly that it is difficult to believe that he will get it back in time to mount a serious challenge for his third Claret Jug in successive years. But as one seasoned observer said: “This is Harrington you are talking about. He’ll probably go on and win it.”

At Le Golf National yesterday, a splendid, links-style course just outside Versailles, Harrington could not get going. A missed birdie putt of about five feet at the 1st set the tone for the round and when he had chances for birdies at each of the next six holes and missed them all, he will have known it was not to be his day.

And when he drove out of bounds at the 14th — “My driver is an office club at the moment: it works nine to five and never at weekends” he was heard to say — and walked off with a triple-bogey eight, his game was up. He had gone out in 36, level par, but came home in 39 with bogeys at the 10th, 13th, and 18th and birdies at the 12th and 17th for a five-over-par total of 147. He missed the cut by four shots.

While most of the big names will be competing at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond next week, Harrington will be warming up at the Irish PGA Championship at the European Club, Co Wicklow. It might be low-key, but he has played (and won) the event for the past two years and each time has gone on to win the Open.

As is his way, Harrington was quick to put a positive spin on his travails. “I’m happier than I ever was with the physical side,” he said. “I’ve had plenty of lows in my career, but it is always about pushing on. Getting to a point, stepping back from it and moving on again. Now I’ll be firmly focused on my previous strengths of a good, sharp short game.”

Leading the way is Rafa Echenique, of Argentina, who pushed Nick Dougherty all the way at the BMW International Open last weekend. After a round of 67, he is on ten under par and leads Steve Webster, Charl Schwartzel and Martin Kaymer by two shots.

Shane Lowry, who won the Irish Open as an amateur last month, made his first cut in four attempts as a professional, but almost missed his tee time because he had incorrectly set the clock on his phone. He said: “I was down on the chipping green when my dad rang saying: ‘You’d better hurry up as you only have three minutes to get to the tee.’ It was a bit of a fright.”