Europeans on the charge in US

The Europeans were on the charge at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational as today’s third round began to take shape at Firestone Country Club.

Darren Clarke, Ian Poulter, Daniel Chopra and Sergio Garcia were all making significant strides up a very compact leaderboard as overnight leader Vijay Singh waited to begin his round on seven under par.

England’s Poulter was within three shots of the lead, two under for his round with three birdies and a bogey in his opening six holes.

Sweden’s Chopra was four under for his day after 15 holes, bouncing back from a disappointing four-over-par second-round 74.

Six birdies and two bogeys put him at three under for the tournament alongside Northern Ireland’s Clarke – who had sunk three birdies in a row at the second, third and fourth holes, adding two more and a bogey by the time he had played 14.

Clarke’s playing partner was Garcia, with the Spaniard also in good form, producing five birdies checked by two bogeys to reach two under for the tournament having played the 14th.

England’s Justin Rose birdied his first three holes and the seventh to move to three under but fell back with bogeys at the 14th and 15th holes.

Singh was taking a one-shot overnight lead into the third round intent on playing “my heart out”.

Singh, whose second-round 66 last night sent him to the top of the leaderboard at seven under par, found himself in the final pairing of the day alongside world number two Phil Mickelson – lying one stroke back at six under.

The two were famously involved in a locker-room confrontation at the 2005 Masters when Singh alleged Mickelson had damaged a green with his spikes.

The Fijian insisted he would not be worrying about anything his rival is doing as they negotiate Firestone’s 7,400-yard South Course.

Singh has a good record of converting 36-hole leads into victories, achieving the feat in seven of the last 10 events he has got into the position.

Most recently, though, in this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March he had to settle for a tie for third behind winner Tiger Woods following a costly third-round 73.

Mickelson’s once superb record at Firestone has taken a knock in recent years, though. Between 1995 and 2002, he finished in the top 10 every year, winning the NEC World Series of Golf here in 1996 and recording three seconds in the years following that victory.

In the last five years, however, he has not finished higher than a tie for 23rd place and last year placed in a tie for 46th.

A trio of European players will be looking to make their move at the top of the leaderboard, with Lee Westwood best placed at five under following a second-round 65.

Miguel Angel Jimenez joined him there with an opening birdie and Paul McGinley was four shots off the lead at three under par.

With no halfway cut in this 80-man elite field, the stragglers were out early with Germany’s Martin Kaymer rebounding from a second-round 79 to post a two-under 68, still nine over for the week.

Open champion Padraig Harrington did the same to bounce back from a second-round 75, his 68 taking him to two over par for the tournament heading into the final round, courtesy of closing back-to-back birdies.

Of the other players already back in the clubhouse, honours went to Japan’s Hidemasa Hoshino with a five-under-par 65 which left him at three over for the event.

England’s Nick Dougherty shot a one-under-par 69 and will go into the final round seven over par.