Sand king Padraig Harrington moved into contention for the Smurfit European Open title at the K Club with wonder shot at the 18th.

Cool customer Harrington had to ignore a mobile phone on his second shot and then get up an down from 40 yards from a bunker to card a glorious 69, the joint best score of the day.

Now Harrington is just two shots behind leader Michael Campbell and one adrift of second placed Mark Pilkington and Barry Lane.

He said: "I'm delighted about this. After shooting 72 yesterday I thought it was going to be like my first round last week at the Irish Open.

"It's tough out here if you are not right up there, so if you fall behind it is not like anyone is going to make a mistake and let you back in the tournament."

Harrington's round was a testament to his patience and at just two shots off the pace, he is a serious contender to succeed Darren Clarke as champion over the weekend.

A bogey at he first hole but him under pressure but he stayed cool and made five birdies and just one more bogey before the finish.

"I would have thought that the leader would be eight or nine under but the other half of the field had a bad draw and it is nice not to be so far back like I was at Fota Island.

"The mobile phone didn't bother me, I hit a five wood and came off it and left myself a very difficult third shot. I don't; blame people for the mobile phones going off. I'd say 99.9% would turn them off if they realised and maybe a few more signs would make people more aware."

Harrington holed a six-footer and was delighted to walk off the first with a bogey five.

"If I had missed that I would have thought that it was a very difficult day but I came off delighted," he said.

He repaired the damage with a nine iron to six feet at the fifth and then holed a 12 footer at the seventh to dip under par.

A six iron into the Liffey at the eighth finished with Harrington pitching to four feet and holing for a bogey four before he made back-to-back birdies after the turn.

On the 10th he drained a 20 footer down the green and the hit a pitching wedge to eight feet at the 11th to get to two under for the day.

He kept it going by holing a 15 footer for par at the 13th and didn't get frustrated when birdie putts of between six and 20 feet failed to drop.

His got his reward at the last however, blasting a sand wedge 40 yards and stopping it dead, just six feet past the pin for a glorious closing birdie.

Of the rest of the Irish, Kilkenny's Gary Murphy and Eamonn Darcy were the only others to survive the three over par cut mark.

Murphy birdied his last hole to shoot a one over par 73 to finish on one over as Darcy carded a 72 in his final European Tour event to make the final two rounds bang on the cut off mark.

But there was no joy for Graeme McDowell (four over), Michael Hoey, Philip Walton and McGinley (six over), John Dignam (seven over), Des Smyth (14 over) or David Walker (17 over).

McDowell missed out my just one when he failed to hole a five-footer for birdie at the 18th while Hoey's tournament came to an end as he dumped his approach into the water at the eighth.

Said McDowell: "Just one too many. I'm striking the ball really solid but I'm struggling with the putter."

"My alignment is terrible and that's cost me. I had just three birdies in two rounds and that's not me. That's why missing those short putts is so frustrating. It's probably the hardest way to play golf - hitting it well but putting badly."

Top

© Brian Keogh 2002

Back