Pádraig Harrington’s remarkable round makes him a contender in Abu Dhabi | European Tour

Emotions Patrick Harrington The golf ball played by the Irishman during his third-round 64 should serve as a warning to the rest of the Abu Dhabi Championship. Harrington, a three-time major champion, believes his game has never been in better shape.

Harrington’s success will turn heads. No wonder; at 51, he will become the oldest DP World winner, once in European Tour history.Harrington will start the fourth round, finishing second from the 54-hole leader, led by Shane Lowry, Min Woo Lee and Revival of Francesco Molinari 13 under par. There won’t be much pressure on Harrington to build up in the fourth round. He loves life in this environment.

“This afternoon will be eating chocolate, drinking my Diet Coke, sitting in bed watching Netflix or something,” he said. “It’s different for my age. I have a better grasp of the experience, who I am and what I need to do. I’m in a good place.

“Before everyone did stats, I did stats. Now everyone does their own stats, and I refuse to do stats because I don’t want to be part of the crowd. I have to be different, so I’m trying The opposite thing.”

U.S. Champions Tour eligibility in his 50s appears to have fueled Harrington’s desire to compete. But if he wins at Yas Links, he will undoubtedly focus more on the mainstream tour. Six straight birdies on the back nine highlighted his ability to mix the best. “When I was doing it in my prime, I would be so excited and stressed out about it,” he said, “Today it’s ‘ho-hum, this is what I do’.

“There are a lot of players who are going to be fitter and stronger at 50. The biggest problem is burnout. I burned out five years ago, no doubt. I’m here because I have nothing else to do. I’ve found that’s What I love to do, and I’m good at, there’s no point in trying to be good at anything else. I’ll never be as good at golf, so why not find a way to get out there and love golf again?”

Expect a wild ending. At one point on Saturday, 22 players sat within three points of the lead. Lee and Lowry signed for a 66 at the end of the round, while Molinari made a beautiful birdie on the 18th hole for a 69. Grant Forrest’s 65 put him at 12-under with Sebastian Soderbergh and Victor Perez. Antoine Rozner, Adrian Mellonc and Guido Migliozzi were 11 under with Harrington. Two strokes separate the top 10.

Highlights for Lowry included an eagle on the sixth hole from 162 yards. “It was Brucie’s bonus because I gave myself a couple of chances early on and didn’t really go in too much,” he said. “The first race of the year, you don’t know what’s going to happen. My thing is, I’m going to try to give myself as many chances to win as possible, and at some stage, hopefully it will happen.”

Lowry won the event in 2019 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. six months later, he is an open champion. The strong wind forecast for the fourth day should favor Lowry. “It’s tricky when there’s a breeze outside, and I’ll be able to deal with that,” he said.

The morning brought a scarring experience for Tom McKibbin. With two holes to play in his second round — he was taken off the course Friday night because of dim lighting — he sat inside the cutout line. McKibbin had a par on the 17th hole, but eventually found water. A double bogey meant he advanced by one shot.

McKibbin’s mood may have improved on Tuesday, when Harrington revealed that he and Lowry wanted to play the 20-year-old and Rory McIlroy in a practice round ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic.