• WGC-CA Championship

Harrington fires himself into contention at Doral

Padraig Harrington suffered few difficulties during round three © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Els holds off Schwartzel to capture title in Doral
  
• News: Els on song at Doral
  
• News: Schwartzel tames the Blue Monster
  

Padraig Harrington produced one of the rounds of the day at the WGC-CA Championship, hitting a marvellous five-under 67 to fire his way into contention near the top of the leaderboard at Doral.

Harrington was absolutely flawless for 17 holes as he hit six birdies to break South Africa's dominance over the competition, after Ernie Els and Charl Schwartzel had traded the lead throughout the day. However, a bogey on the final hole meant Harrington finished on 11-under, leaving him in second place behind his southern hemisphere rivals.

Former Open Championship and PGA Championship winner Harrington was in sparkling form as he birdied the fifth and eighth holes on the front nine, before adding back-to-back efforts at the 11th and 12th and the 16th and 17th. The Irishman will no doubt be ruing the 18th hole as he returns to his hotel room though, after a bogey at the par-four left him with work to do going into the final day.

Ernie Els had begun the day in control on 10-under, and the veteran progressed to 12-under at the turn as his stranglehold continued to grow. However, despite avoiding the sand all day, Els cancelled out his only birdie on the back nine with a bogey at the 13th, eventually carding 70 to open the door for compatriot Schwartzel.

Charl Schwartzel produced an incredible front nine to wrestle for joint ownership of the lead with Els, notching five birdies and just a solitary bogey in order to turn up the heat on his countryman. Schwartzel equalled Harrington's five-under 67 with a further birdie at the 16th, setting up an exciting three-way tussle in the final round.

Robert Allenby may have something to say about that just two strokes back on 10-under, after he recorded his worst round of the tournament, 71, to drop down the leaderboard. Bill Haas also maintains a healthy interest in the Championship on nine-under, one shot ahead of the dangerous Martin Kaymer, whose sensational six-under 66 propelled him to within four shots of the lead.

England's Paul Casey fired himself into contention going into the final round as he hit five birdies and an eagle to card a timely 68. Casey eagled the par-five eighth hole to shoot his way up the leaderboard, where he now sits five shots off the leader on seven-under.

One of three players level with Casey is former world No. 1 Vijay Singh, who carded a two-under 70. Singh did his best work down the front nine on Saturday, hitting three birdies and one bogey, but he failed to improve his score down the back nine as the leaders maintained their advantage over the Fijian.

Camilo Villegas, winner of the 2010 Honda Classic, would have hoped to push on after his second-round 68 but, despite hitting five bogeys, the Columbian hit a disastrous double bogey on the seventh to puncture his chances. In the end he could only register a two-under 70 to take him to six-under for the tournament, leaving any hopes of a Championship push all but extinguished going into the final day.

Soren Hansen was also left to wonder what might have been after he struggled to build on his halfway score of six-under. The Dane carded consecutive 69s in the opening rounds of the competition, but a double bogey at the 14th undid the good work of earlier birdies as he had to settle for a 71 for seven-under.

Phil Mickelson will be disappointed with his day's work, after he failed to dip under par for the first time in the tournament to remain on four-under. Mickelson had suggested that he could force his way up the leaderboard after a three-under 69 on Friday, but five bogeys hampered his progress as he could only achieve par in round three.

Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell is level with Mickelson on four-under after carding an unsettled 70. McDowell hit two birdies on both the front and back nines but also threw in two bogeys to prevent an even bigger leap up the standings.

Elsewhere, Sergio Garcia is one of a number of Europeans fluffing their lines in Florida. The Spaniard hit his best round of the competition to return a modest 71, leaving him one stroke behind Lee Westwood on one-over-par. Westwood hit three bogies to follow up his second-round 68 with a disappointing 74 on Saturday.

Luke Donald and Ross Fisher fared marginally better, carding 69 and 70 respectively to move beneath par for the tournament. Australia's Adam Scott is level with Donald on two-under.

And Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy suffered another disappointing afternoon, carding a consecutive 73 to fall to six-under alongside Ian Poulter. The pair join fellow Ryder Cup hopefuls Miguel Jimenez and Robert Karlsson, both of whom are five-over-par, near the bottom of the leaderboard.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.