Padraig Harrington goes into the final round of the Players Championship at the TPC at Sawgrass sharing a two shot lead American Jay Haas.
Harrington, two ahead at halfway and three clear early in the third round, double bogeyed the 442 yard seventh, but hit back for a two under par 70 and 11 under par double of 205.
Haas, the oldest player in the field at 49 and nine months away from being eligible for the senior circuit, fired a 67 to join him at the top of the leaderboard. The last European to win the Players Championship was Sandy Lyle in 1987.
There is a forecast of bad weather for the closing 18 holes, but Harrington said: "I'll look forward to that. It's going to be a tough day regardless. I'll expect a few mishaps, but it should suit me."
Defending champion Craig Perks lies joint third with two former winners Davis Love III and Fred Couples, while among the other players still in the hunt is Harrington's fellow Irishman Darren Clarke.
Clarke, who finished his second round with two bogeys, burst back into the picture with the only other 67 of the day. He came home in a blistering 31 to finish the day joint sixth only three strokes behind. "I was pretty disappointed last night," said Clarke. "I made the choice to play on and messed up a bit. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I made a mistake.
"I decided to be patient, though, and wait for things to happen. Fortunately they did. I stiffed it three times on the back nine and birdied the two par fives. It would be nice if it was that easy all the time."
