Pádraig roars back to form with sizzling 64 at Firestone

JUST when it appeared his season was about to collapse under a barrage of missed cuts, Pádraig Harrington blasted a six under par 64 – his lowest round of the season – to grab a two stroke lead in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club.

Having missed eight cuts from 16 strokeplay starts since he began working hard to improve his swing at the start of this year, the three-time major winner proved the old adage that form is fleeting and class permanent when he raced into a two shot lead in the $8.5 million €6m) extravaganza.

Tied for the lead on four under par with seven holes to play, Harrington holed three huge putts over 20 feet coming down the strech – for par at his 15th and for birdies at his 16th and 17th holes to finish the day two clear of playing partner Scott Verplank, Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng and South Africa’s Tim Clark, who all carded four under par 66s.