Clarke mixes the rough with the smooth

Darren Clarke endured an eventful round in the worst of conditions but in the end he signed for a level par 72 to be just two shots off the lead held by Spain's Jose Manuel Lara after the third day of the Smurfit Kappa European Open at the K-Club.

Clarke's roller-coaster run contained just five pars in all but, most importantly, the seven dropped shots were cancelled out by as many birdies. It left the Tyroneman on seven-under, two shots behind Lara, whose 67 was the joint best score of the day along with Paul McGinley and Lee Westwood.

"I had everything going-on out there today," said Clarke after his round. "I hit some great shots, I hit some terrible shots, then compounded those with some terrible decisions. It was tough and I definitely left three or four shots out there."

"That said 72 is still okay, I just need to hit the ball a little better tomorrow and that's down to getting used to some swing changes and not being tournament sharp at the moment. But at least I have given myself a chance and am still very much in contention.

"I'm not simply going out tomorrow for a walk, I'm going out to try and win," he added.

When the tournament was last played over the Smurfit Course in 2004, Retief Goosen walked away with the title straight after capturing the US Open the week before. Two years ago Lara was one of Goosen's main challengers when the Spaniard eventually tied fifth in some terrible weather. And this time around the 29-year-old also coped admirably with wet and windy conditions.

"The most difficult thing playing in those conditions is to keep yourself in the moment. You have to fight for every shot and I'm very pleased with the way I played," said the leader, whose closest challenger is England's Anthony Wall (70), who is one shot back on eight under.

Clarke is a shot further back and joined in a tie for third alongside English duo Simon Khan (68), Jamie Spence (69) and Wales' Stephen Dodd (73). Overnight leader Bradley Dredge had a back nine to forget because after reaching the turn in two under he had opened up a five shot lead at one stage. However, he came home in five-over 41 for a 75 which dropped him back to six-under.

In McGinley's case it was just as well flights were delayed out of Dublin yesterday because the Ryder Cup star had made his way to the airport thinking he had missed the cut. But he hadn't, and after today's 67 he has now moved up into a tie for 18th on three under.

"When I left the course yesterday I was 92nd and there was no way I was making the cut (two over). I was sure I'd miss by one," said McGinley whose flight back to London was delayed 45 minutes to 5.45pm.

"At 5.15pm my wife phoned and said the scores are tumbling, you'd better hang around. I spoke to the guys at Aer Lingus and they were brilliant, they took me and my bags off the flight."

Another reason for McGinley's hasty departure was that it was "my kid's sports day today so that's what I was rushing back for". The sports day had to take a back seat as dad set about rediscovering some much needed form.

"I've been saying all along I need to improve the quality and standards of my game and today was the best I've played for a long time," added McGinley, who like the morning starters are sure to get the best of the conditions. "I hit 17 greens and the other was just on the fringe today, that was a good standard."

McGinley is striving to tap into the sort of form which brought him victory at the season-ending Volvo Masters last year but getting any sort of momentum was the most difficult thing of all.

"I didn't do anything different out there today. I mean mentally I was the same, the quality of golf wasn't much different. Sometimes I just can't figure out this game," joked the Dubliner. "I guess the difference is I got some momentum and the one thing that has given me a big buzz is I've played quality golf. And tomorrow I'll just go out there and see what happens."
 
McGinley's card contained three birdies on each nine with just the one dropped shot at the fourth. His back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16 were from no more than five feet, illustrating his quality of ball striking.

"I'm delighted for Paul," said Clarke about McGinley's turn in fortune. "Two over looked as though it was never going to make the cut but he sneaked in. Then to go out and play like he did this morning is fantastic. It's great to see him finally getting a break."

It was a "frustraing" morning for playing partners Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell as they carded 69, 72 to be two under and one over respectively.

"I am not hitting it well. I am not driving it well. My iron play is not great. My short game is pretty bad and I am not really putting great. In fact I am playing awful," a dejected McDowell said.

"I have gone from one end of the spectrum to the other. I couldn't hit a draw last week to save my life. This week I can't hit a fade to save my life. I have been working on a lot of things the last few months really and it is just not quite there yet. I am not comfortable with my ball flight and not trusting what I am doing. Confidence is pretty low," added the Portrush pro.

Harrington was despondent as he felt he left too many shots out on the course. "My score should have been at least three better. Even if we get the better weather two under is sure to be too far back," Harrington said.

Stephen Browne had let his guard down with a couple of sixes early on the back nine. However, the Dubliner rallied well with a pair of closing birdies to sign for a 72 and remain four under. Damien McGrane carded one more than Browne to be two under for the tournament.

David Higgins, who like McGinley had set for home in yesterday thinking he had missed the cut, shot 73 to drop to three over. Simon Thornton's 76 left him six-over.