GRAEME McDowell had moved from one behind to one in front midway through the third round as many of Europe's top golfers battled with 25mph gusts in the European Open. On a day that saw last season's number one Justin Rose crash to a 77 – he finished with a triple-bogey seven – and Ian Poulter play his first 10 holes in six over to fall 13 shots back, the Ulsterman became the man the rest had to chase at the London Club.
England's Ross Fisher held the overnight advantage after following up a course- record 63 with a 68 on Friday, but he opened the door with bogeys on the second and seventh.
McDowell, 11th in the Ryder Cup race, also dropped a stroke on the 412-ya
rd second playing into the wind, but then birdied the long fifth and rolled in a 30-footer two holes later. Both birdied the 563-yard eighth before Fisher halved his deficit with another incredible drive on the 448-yard next – like Thursday it was more than 400 yards – and a chip-and-run to five feet.
They were 14 under par and 13 under as a result, with Sergio Garcia's outward 35 containing two birdies and one bogey leaving him 10 under and then defending champion Colin Montgomerie and South African David Frost – aged 45 and 48 respectively – using their experience to be in joint fourth spot on nine-under. Montgomerie, whose runner-up finish in last week's French Open re-ignited his career, had yet to record a bogey after 12 holes and his 20-foot putt on the short 11th maintained his challenge for the £400,000 first prize.
Rose, hoping to boost confidence two weeks before his return to Royal Birkdale for The Open 10 years on from his fourth-place finish there as a 17-year-old amateur, had tumbled out of contention even before he drove into the lake on the last and then fluffed a chip into the bunker short of the green.
Padraig Harrington, on the other hand, believes he is playing "far better" than he was in the build-up to his Open victory last year. And that despite also driving into the lake at the last and not making the most of a sparkling front nine. Harrington, having made the halfway cut with only one shot to spare, raced to the turn in just 31 strokes and although the inward half contained a second eagle of the day there were also four bogeys.
The Dubliner signed for a three-under par 69 and five-under total of 211, then waited to see if the leaders came back within range in the difficult conditions.
Harrington said: "The game is in far better shape than at any stage last year. This is a period I have to work very hard at and sometimes hard work is not the best.
"Going out on a Saturday with nothing to lose like today is more the attitude I need for four days rather than beat myself up.
"It's pretty windy, but there are still plenty of scoring opportunities. It really was affecting the putting, though. You had to go with the wind rather than the line at times."
The full article contains 548 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
