All hope is not yet lost, but things are getting increasingly desperate for Padraig Harrington in his quest to be Europe's number one golfer. Indeed, it was indicative of the player's unease with his own game that yesterday he spent another thoroughly miserable time negotiating the cork tree-lined fairways - and too often in the trees - as he sought, but failed, to find the inspiration required to overhaul Retief Goosen in the race to the Order of Merit title.
Not that the man known as "The Goose" was doing himself too many favours either here at the Volvo Masters, the final counting tournament to decide the European Tour's money list. "Probably the worst I have played all year," moaned the South African.
In fact, Goosen shot a second round 74, for 147, and Harrington a 76, for 150, which left them in unfamiliar territory in the lower reaches of the field, well behind runaway leader Angel Cabrera of Argentina.
This tournament, though, is not just about two men. While the Goosen-Harrington duel has added intrigue, there is also a flagship title (and the small consideration of €522,778 to the winner) to be earned. Cabrera is in the driving seat to win, yesterday firing a 72 for seven-under-par 135. Normally known for his big-hitting, but displaying a wonderfully soft touch on the notoriously fast greens, Cabrera has a four-stroke lead over a quartet of players - Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Robert Karlsson and Bradley Dredge - at the mid-way stage.
For the Irish, however, this final event of the European Tour season - although the 2003 schedule tees off in Taiwan in a fortnight's time - has proven to be rather traumatic. Harrington has laboured, almost as if trying too hard, and has left himself with a mountain to climb, but things have been even worse for Paul McGinley, the hero of the Ryder Cup, and rookie professional Graeme McDowell, both of whom reached the halfway point in the tournament on 153, 11-over-par.
The exception to the rule has been a return to form for Darren Clarke, who despite winning the English Open back in June, has endured a poor season. Yesterday, however, the Northerner rediscovered his putting touch and returned a 69, to be on level par 142.
"I've hit the ball well all year, but just haven't scored as well as I should have done," insisted Clarke.
In fact, he was the first player to arrive in Valderrama - on Sunday last, after a four-week break from competitive golf - and worked with his coach Pete Cowan on a number of things, including "perfecting an action through the ball so that I can get more distance".
Clarke's problem for much of the summer and into the winter has been following a good round with another. As such, today's third round is important for Clarke as he seeks to recover some of the ground he has lost this season, dropping from ninth in the world rankings at the start of the year to 27th.
Interestingly, with an eye on what was happening elsewhere, Clarke wasn't prepared to dismiss Harrington's ability to stage a dramatic recovery and salvage his hopes of the Order of Merit title.
"You never know what can happen," claimed Clarke. "Padraig is so good a player that he can go out and shoot a couple of really good rounds.
"I was in a similar type of position a couple of years ago, when I was battling with Lee Westwood, and I kept pushing myself and pushing myself and pushing myself and, when you do that, it is very difficult. But hopefully, he can go out the last couple of rounds and get himself back in there.
"There are a lot of potential disaster holes there for everyone and a couple of 68s could get him high enough up the leaderboard."
Harrington's demeanour after his second round suggested he knew the writing was on the wall in his attempt to become the first Irish winner of the Order of Merit title since Ronan Rafferty in 1989. Trailing Goosen by €23,119, Harrington needs to leapfrog over his South African rival and, then, to go low enough to climb to a top-10 finish. As things stand, he is 48th going into the weekend; and those lighting candles will need to produce something of a miracle.
It is not, however, beyond Harrington to turn things around. So far, his main problems have been with the putter: in Thursday's first round, he took 30 putts and, in yesterday's second, he had 33. Not surprisingly, the putting green acted like a magnet again yesterday and into the evening.
"There is a lot of do," admitted Harrington, "but it is still realistic. If a top-10 finish means being under par, then there is a realistic chance of getting in there. Cabrera did it in round one, so it can be done. I know it is possible to turn things around. Once you hole a few putts, suddenly everything is rosy in the garden."
Yesterday, Harrington went through the round without a birdie until the 17th hole, only to finish with a bogey after putting his tee-shot on the last - using an iron - into the trees. It was an eventful round throughout, and even involved playing a shot left-handed on the fourth after he drove into the trees on the right.
"It's a tough golf course," said Harrington. "In a perfect world, you'd like to be in the middle of fairway and hitting under the pin all the time. But that's the test out here. It never makes it easy for you."
Indeed, an example of how the course can jump up and bite was emphasised by how Cabrera incurred a double bogey seven on the 17th, where he went into the pond on the left of the green. Harrington, more than anyone, knows there is always life until the final green has been reached. The candles may not be burning as brightly as they once were, but they're not extinguished yet either.
Leaderboard
135 (7 under)
A Cabrera (Arg) 63 72
139 (3 under)
R Karlsson (Swe) 72 67
C Montgomerie 70 69
S Garcia (Spa) 69 70
Bradley Dredge 68 71
140 (2 under)
J Rose 71 69
F Jacobson (Swe) 68 72
P Price 67 73
Order of Merit race
147 R Goosen (SA)73 74
150 P Harrington 74 76
Other Irish scores
142 D Clarke 73 69
153 P McGinley 76 77
G McDowell 72 81
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