Watery grave for Harrington and Clarke

THEY call it Firethorn. It measures only 535 yards, meaning it should be a pushover for the game’s finest, and only the eighth has played easier all week.

Nevertheless, Augusta National’s 15th hole struck yesterday when least expected and did much to spoil what had otherwise been a decent morning for Ireland’s Masters contenders Darren Clarke and Pádraig Harrington.

Clarke ran up a triple bogey eight, Harrington took one less. If not quite disastrous where their prospects of winning the green jacket was concerned, they were serious blunders given that a simple par would have put Clarke into the lead after 54 holes instead of two behind Phil Mickelson.