Harrington slide continues at Turnberry

Defending champion Padraig Harrington failed to find the flying start he was looking for in the early stages of today’s third round of the Open Championship at Turnberry.

Harrington, seeking to emulate Peter Thomson’s Open hat-trick of 1954-56, made the cut by a single shot, lying eight shots off the pace on three over par following rounds of 69 and 74.

The 37-year-old Dubliner had certainly not given up the ghost, insisting after his second round he could still win if “one thing turned around,” and got off to the perfect start with a birdie on the first from 10ft.

However, he then missed from similar range on the second and three-putted the third for bogey to remain well down the field of 73 players who had qualified for the final two rounds.

The best golf so far was coming from American Steve Stricker, who carded three birdies and one bogey in his opening seven holes to improve to one over par.

But world number three Paul Casey was seven over par after four bogeys in his first five holes and Rory McIlroy was only one shot better off after starting with three straight bogeys.

The cut had come at four over par and claimed the notable scalps of the likes of Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Poulter, David Duval and Greg Norman.

For Woods, it was his first missed cut in 14 Open Championships and only his second in 49 majors as a professional.

The world number one dropped seven shots in six holes around the turn in his second round, and even birdies at the 16th and 17th were not enough to prevent a rare early exit.

The final group were not due out until 3pm, with a 59-year-old Tom Watson - seeking a remarkable sixth Open title – playing alongside Open rookie Steve Marino, the world number 77 experiencing his first links golf this week.

For all his optimism, Harrington was still struggling with a game that had seen him miss his last five cuts in Europe and America.

That was epitomised by a wayward second shot to the par-five seventh, from which he was lucky to find the ball in a decent lie, only to then hit a terrible pitch and run up a bogey six.

McIlroy showed what was possible on that hole with an eagle from only five feet, but it came in the wake of a double bogey on the fifth and left the 20-year-old from Northern Ireland six over par for the tournament.