European Order of Merit winner Padraig Harrington roared back into contention during round three of the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City.

The Dubliner reeled off six birdies from the third to ninth and two more after the turn to close to within three shots of overnight leader and defending champion Jim Furyk on 11-under-par.

This was largely thanks to some huge putts, including a 50-footer on the par-three fourth, a 15-footer on the fifth, a 25-footer on the sixth and a 30-footer on the seventh.

That closed him to within one shot of Furyk but he dropped his first shot of the day at the eighth to give the champion some breathing room.

Harrington appears to have mastered the front nine on the course and he struck back immediately with a birdie on the ninth. His performances over the first two days suggested he could still have struggled to maintain his momentum after the turn but a birdie on the 10th and another on 13th put paid to that theory.

Furyk, meanwhile, was in typically ruthless form.  The American has yet to drop a shot in the tournament and was in no mood to start today.

He blitzed the course over the opening two days with scores of 68 and 66 abd provided more of the same today with another flawless round of 68 thanks to birdies on the seventh, ninth, 11th and 12th.

The American's playing partner and first-round leader Henrik Stenson dropped to a share of third place with local favourite Ernie Els after a 71. Els built on his excellent 67 yesterday with a 70 today and moves to within four of Harrington.

Compatriot Charl Schwartzel is a shot further back, while Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman complete a quartet of South Africans in the middle of the field on five-under and three-under respectively.

Last-placed Colin Montgomerie restored some pride following a quintuple bogey at the 11th hole yesterday by birdying it today and shoting a two-under-par 70 to climb back to six-over.