Harrington misses chance at Sawgrass

Padraig Harrington failed to take advantage yesterday as the pressure of leading the Players Championship – golf’s richest-ever event – took its toll on Americans Jerry Kelly and Kevin Sutherland.

Kelly scored 74 and Sutherland 73, but it was 23-year-old Australian Adam Scott rather than Dubliner Harrington who capitalised in the race for the first prize.

Scott’s 69 lifted him into a two-stroke lead with a round to go at Sawgrass in Florida. He is 10 under par, with Sutherland and Frank Lickliter at eight under his closest challengers.

Harrington, second last year and fifth at halfway, fell back to joint 12th with a 73, his only birdies coming at the par five second, 11th and 16th holes.

He will play the final round with world number one Tiger Woods tomorrow.

“I didn’t play well and putted poorly,” he admitted. “I was trying to limit the damage to give myself some chance. Five under was as good as I could do.”

Bogeys came on the fifth, eighth, 13th and then the 447-yard last, where he pushed his drive into the right-hand rough and could not make the green.

Scott, who also led after an opening 65 on Thursday, likes his position, but warned: “I am far from winning this event. I have a leaderboard full of the best players in the world.”

Sutherland and Lickliter would not claim to be superstars – the former has one US Tour win to his name and Lickliter two – but in the group sharing fourth place three behind are world number three Ernie Els and former number two Phil Mickelson.

Els commented: “Adam will be tough to beat. He is a class act and playing great, but on this course you can make some big numbers and I don’t care who you are you are going to be nervous.”

Vijay Singh, current holder of the world number two position, is four back and Woods cannot yet be ruled out in a tie for 16th six behind.

He promised to be even closer, but failed to put the finishing touches today to a round and a comeback which promised to be something really special.

Down in 108th place after an opening 75 and in danger of missing his first halfway cut in 120 tournaments, Woods was incredibly up to fifth place when he turned in 32 and then birdied the 12th and 13th.

But although another birdie came at the long 16th there were also bogeys at the 14th, 17th and 18th to give the world number one a 68 and four-under aggregate of 212.

“Not such a good finish, but overall I played well,” said Woods. “I hit so many good shots and man, all the hard work is starting to pay off.

“Each and every day I am getting better.” Good news, of course, for his attempt to win a fourth Masters in a fortnight.

On the island green 17th, where he was in the water on Thursday, Woods only just made it across and after spinning back into the rough played a poor chip.

Then his second to the last was fired into the grandstand right of the green and he failed to get up and down once more.

Paul Casey made his presence felt on his debut with a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th, but he drove into the lake on the last and bogeyed for a 69 and is alongside Harrington.

“I pulled it a fraction, but still thought it might have found a piece of land,” he said. “But I played nicely and I have no reason to change anything tomorrow. Another round in the 60s would be nice.”

With a huge amount of world ranking points on offer it is a big chance for Casey to take a major leap up the Ryder Cup standings.

Harrington birdied the par five second to maintain his hopes of improving on his second place last year, but he then bogeyed the fifth and eighth and later another birdie at the 11th he slipped up again at the short 13th.

Earlier Craig “Popeye” Parry popped up with two more eagles as he missed the course record of 63 by just one stroke.

Darren Clarke was two over and that represented real disappointment for the Irishman, sixth in last week’s Bay Hill Invitational.

He turned in 33, but an eagle on the 11th came in a back nine 40 which also included four bogeys and a double on the 449-yard 15th.

One ahead of him and in a similar frame of mind was Nick Faldo, who almost made an albatross on the second, but then ran up a seven at the ninth and had to settle for a 71.