Golf – PGA Championship:Pádraig Harrington failed to make any impression on the day termed as "moving day" in tournament golf. Instead it was his playing partner Chris Wood who made all the running to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the €4.5million PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Yesterday's 67 was the low round of the day for Harrington but there were no such highs in today's 72 - it was decidedly flat, particularly in comparison to the young Englishman he was playing alongside.
The Dubliner dropped a shot at the fifth before making it up at the ninth to turn in level. The back nine on the West Course doesn't offer up as many birdies opportunities as it used to since the €8million facelift. And it was true for Harrington, whose bogey at the 15th stood out for the wrong reasons against eight pars.
At three under par the three-time major winner finds himself five off the lead after Wood matched Harrington's 67 from yesterday to hold a two-shot lead on eight under.
The tall 23-year-old leads by two from fellow countryman Danny Willett (70) and Sweden's Robert Karlsson, who stormed back into contention with a course-record 62 earlier in the day. Overnight leader Luke Donald was a shot further back on five under after he too struggled like Harrington to card a 72.
Wood raced out of the blocks with three consecutive birdies from the second. His round got even better with further birdies at 11 and 12 before he surely realised the situation he found himself in - leading the European Tour's flagship event. Bogeys at 13 and 15 were offset somewhat by a birdie at 16 before two pars at the closing par fives brought him home.
Graeme McDowell remained static on one under after a 71, while Paul McGinley (71) and Damien McGrane (75) were two over. McGinley's score only tells part of the story for he made great strides in the early stages only for his round to completely collapse at the end.
The Ryder Cup hero was four under through 15 holes and just four off the lead. However he haemorrhaged shots with a bogey, bogey, double-bogey finish.
Rory McIlroy failed to work his magic and struggled to a 73 to be three over. The 21-year-old endured a roller-coaster opening seven holes where he started with a birdie, dropped a shot at the next before making eagle at the long fourth. However another dropped shot came at the seventh and dropped three more on the back nine.
Shane Lowry finished four over after a 74 while Peter Lawrie (74) and Gareth Maybin (75) were one stroke further back.
Karlsson's 62 set the place alight early on, especially as the tall Swede flew home to Monte Carlo before realising he had made the cut.
The 2008 European number one finished three over yesterday and thought he had no chance of surviving the halfway cut. He returned to the Surrey venue via Paris, made his 8.55am tee-time and carded no less than nine birdies in his flawless round.
He had started the day in a tie for 63rd but quickly moved through the field with five birdies on the front nine, including three in a row from the second, to turn in just 30 strokes.
Four further birdies came on the inward half of a stunning round where he picked up shots at 12, 14,16 and 18.
“Soren Hansen said at breakfast ‘This trip has 63 written all over it’ and I said ‘Could be 83, but we’ll see’," quipped Karlsson after his round.
“It feels like you definitely get a second chance. You just go out to enjoy it, but don’t touch my putter — you could burn your hands.”
Asked where he ranked the round, Karlsson just smiled and replied: “Probably the most unexpected.”