Harrington leads from the front

It was necessary to walk just two holes with Nick Faldo and Jesper Parnevik today to realise that it was going to be a final round full of drama at the Players Championship in Florida.

In pouring rain and a strengthening wind, Faldo opened by sinking a birdie putt measured at 102 feet, then hit a tree 100 yards in front of him off the next tee when his grip slipped as he swung. The hole cost him a bogey six.

Playing partner Parnevik, meanwhile, ran up a triple-bogey seven at the 392-yard first.

The Swede – dressed in black and white striped trousers, black and white dotted jumper with a yellow back and, of course, his usual upturned peak on his cap – flew the green with his second shot, hacked it out of a bush back-handed only a few yards, failed to climb the bank up to the green with his next and then putted 15 feet past.

The adventures left Faldo two under and Parnevik level par, 11 strokes adrift of overnight leaders Padraig Harrington and 49-year-old American Jay Haas.

The forecast was for the rain to pass over, but the wind to become a real factor as the shoot-out grew to a climax.

Harrington, relishing the challenge of “being the hunted”, and Haas, trying to become the sixth-oldest winner in US Tour history, were two in front of defending champion Craig Perks and former winners Fred Couples and Davis Love, with Darren Clarke three behind and world number one Tiger Woods five back.

The Dubliner said: “It’s why we play golf – to try to shoot a good score under pressure. When you’re leading the focus is on you and if you have a bad day everybody sees it.

“Obviously I’ve had plenty of bad days in the past, but it’s the ultimate test when you have all these guys coming at you and for you to do your job.

“It’s more fun playing in the middle of the field, but I’ve always judged how good a player is on that sort of scenario. Trying to perform under pressure.”

Woods is the best in the “ultimate test” department, of course. But of all his 50 wins as a professional so far, only two have come from this far back in the final 18 holes.

He was five behind at the 2000 Pebble Beach Pro-am and won by two – incredibly after being seven behind with seven to play – and surged from eight behind Ernie Els to win the 1998 Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand in a play-off.