Padraig Harrington was boldy climbing up the leaderboard with a flurry of
birdies on the front nine just as the leaders were making last minute preparations before setting-off in the final round of the Murphy's Irish Open.
The Dubliner biridied three of the first seven holes -second, fifth and sixth - to get within three shots of the leaders on 11-under. Harrington spoke of his frustration at not making a move yesterday when others around him managed to.
Instead, on this evidence, Harrington is leaving his moves for today by taking advantage of the receptive greens which have had to endure torrential downpours for most of the morning. He has surely left too much to do to win but determined progress like this makes a top five finish a real possibility.
Des Smyth was also making up ground thanks to birdies at the fourth an and sixth to join Harrington on eight-under. Meanwhile, Philip Walton's day wasn't exactly going to plan, he was two-over through 14 and back to one-under overall.
The irresistible Ulster pairing of Darren Clarke and Graeme McDowell was living up to it's billing right from the start. McDowell immediately moved one ahead of his more illustrious countryman on eight-under after a birdie at the first.
As the leading Irishman overnight, Eamonn Darcy was last of the home players to tee-off but dropped to seven-under after a bogey at the first. Sweden's Niclas Fasth and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn will be the last pair to set-off 2.45 p.m.