Hopes of seeing a first home winner of the Murphy's Irish Open in 19 years lay in tatters at wind-blow Fota Island last night.

With the cut coming at level par, only four Irishman survived to take their places in the third round today, with Padraig Harrington the best placed SEVEN shots behind leader Colin Montgomerie.

Harrington shot a one over par 72 to be the leading home challenger on three under par with veteran Eamonn Darcy a shot further back on two under.

For the others there was nothing but disappointment and Paul McGinley (73) and Darren Clarke (72) were the only other survivors from the Irish army, coming in bang on the cut off mark.

It was even more disappointing day for Francis Howley and Damien McGrane, who both played brilliantly only to miss out by one stroke.

Putting proved to be Des Smyth's downfall as he struggled to a two over par 73 to miss the cut by two shots. And there was no fairytale finish either for 22-year-old Athlone amateur Colm Moriarty.

Like Smyth he finished two shots outside the qualifying mark after a 76 with Philip Walton and David Higgins also out of the reckoning on three over par.

"That was a really tough day," said Harrington afterwards. "This is the longest playing course I can remember since I came out on tour.

"The wind was big factor today and I was a bit defensive because you can't shoot a the pins with long irons. It was a pity for the big crowd that I was always in the middle of the green and two putting, it wasn't very exciting to watch."

Harrington will spearhead the Irish challenge at the weekend but the Dubliner doesn't fancy his chances of making up a seven shot deficit on leader Colin Montgomerie.

"It's not going to affect the way I'm going to play but it will be very difficult to get past the 20 or so people between me and the lead. Seven shots is a long way to come back with that number of people ahead of me."

Harrington got off to the worst possible start when his approach to the first finished under the lip of the bunker and he took "an easy bogey". But he was soon back on track thanks to two birdies on the trot and the par five fourth and fifth holes.

At the 548 yard fourth he hit two woods and chipped to three feet to get back to four under for the championship before holing for six feet for another birdie at the fifth.

"I was feeling good but somebody moved behind me at the next and I hit a two iron heavy and finished up with a bogey," said Harrington.

Level par to the turn, Harrington thought he had found the par five 10th in two when he hit a high fade with a five iron over the trees. "I had 206 yards to the flag and couldn't believe it when I heard it had gone long and trickled into the water," he said. "I duffed the chip and took a bogey and just played conservatively after that."

Birdie chances went begging for the Ryder Cup player at the 13th and 14th where he missed from 15 and 8 feet respectively. A bogey five at the 16th, where his sand wedge approach failed to carry, forced Harrington to take his fourth bogey of the day. He scrambled well to save par from five feet at the 17th and then two putted for a birdie four a the last after finding the back of the green with a seven iron.

Darren Clarke's poor season continued with another frustrating day on the greens. The big man shot a one over par 72, carding three bogeys in the last five holes before recovering from trees to birdie the last and sneak in for the weekend.

But he could hardly disguise his disappointment at failing to take advantage of fine play form tee to green. Said Clarke: "I played very well but nothing happened. Then I threw away a few shots as usual. I hit the ball very nicely and was giving myself chances but I couldn't make any putts. "I asked (playing partner) Sam Torrance what he did when he hit a slump and he said just to be patient, which is what I'm doing.

"I'm playing really well in pro-ams and practice rounds but just not doing the business when I need to."

Clarke reached the turn in one under par yesterday, two under for the championship, but let it go on the back nine.

A bogey four at the short 13th started the rot and when he three-putted the two-tiered 16th green to go to one over for his round he appeared to lose concentration.

A drilled three iron approach to the 220 yard 17th finished in the sand on the left and the Dungannon man could only make a bogey. An eight-foot birdie putt at the last saved his blushes but Clarke admitted that he had already blown his chance of winning the tournament in Thursday's first round.

Added Clarke: "I was four under and playing well and let it slip and you can't do that sort of thing. The draw wasn't great, the weather was tough, but you get good draw and bad draws."

One of the later starters, veteran Eamonn Darcy is still in the hunt on three under par. But the 48 year old found the going tough yesterday as he found the water three times in a four over par 75.

Said Darcy: "That wind definitely freshened in the afternoon and there were a lot of holes where you had to hit long irons to get home. "I've been struggling with my putting and it was hard to keep my stroke going in that wind because I was getting blown around."

Darcy bogeyed the second and fifth to turn in two over par. But things really started to go wrong for him after his two-putt birdie at the 10th when he found water on the next three holes.

"I tried to get too clever at he 11th and cut my ball into the water. Bogey. Then I hooked a difficult tee shot into the water at the 12th and tried to draw one in at the 13th and found the water again.

Darcy eventually ran up a double bogey at the 13th to go back to five over for his round. "I just hung in after that," he admitted afterwards. "I saved a good par at the 17th and then birdied the last by putting from just short of the green because I said to myself, 'the way things are going you could pitch this into the water over the green.'"

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© Brian Keogh 2001

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