Clarke and Campbell open up lead

Darren Clarke and Michael Campbell shared the early lead in the third round of the Dunhill Links Championship.

Clarke, joint overnight leader with David Howell and Peter Lawrie, played his first four holes at Kingsbarns in three-under-par.

But that was still only good enough to keep him in a share of top spot alongside Campbell, who was also 12-under-par with seven holes to play.

Over at Carnoustie, Phillip Price birdied the first four holes, then picked up two more shots at the seventh and eighth to be joint third with Howell at 11 under.

One further back came a six-strong group that contained Ernie Els - three birdies in the first four holes at Kingsbarns for him - Paul Lawrie, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter.

Westwood played his first eight holes at Kingsbarns in four under and Poulter had four birdies in five holes there.

Vijay Singh threatened to be the story of the day when he opened with four successive birdies and then had another on the long 16th - his seventh - but then came a double bogey six at the 18th and it was sufficient to drop him to joint 12th on nine under.

Seventeen players in all were separated by three strokes, but Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie still lagged well behind.

Harrington was joint 48th at four under and Montgomerie a sorry 132nd in the company of pro-am partner Hugh Grant. At three over he looked certain to miss the cut to the top 60 at the end of the third round.