Harrington's fate in own hands

When Jose Maria Olazabal benched himself for the foursomes at last year's Ryder Cup, Padraig Harrington came in to partner Miguel Angel Jimenez. The pairing claimed a half-point on the first morning and in the singles Harrington beat Mark O'Meara. "Once anyone has experienced the pressure of the Ryder Cup," Olazabal said, "they are more used to the pressure of a regular tournament."

Should the 28-year-old Dubliner not cope well in today's final round of the Benson and Hedges International, Olazabal could be a beneficiary. Ollie, who has not won since last year's Masters, is, however, five strokes behind Harrington. "I think this tournament is up to Padraig," the Spaniard said. "With a five-shot lead, he should win. I need to start well to put some pressure on, but he must be confident after the way he played today."

The Belfry course has been remodelled so Harrington's 64 stands as the new course best, although previously the record was 63. He is 12 under, with Olazabal, after a 66 which included an eagle and two birdies in the last four holes, and Phil Price, with a 68, at seven under.

When Olazabal won theB & H 10 years ago, the event was at St Mellion and the weather was foul. Apart from the winds of Thursday, the move from The Oxfordshire up the M40 and M42 has been good. The sun shone gloriously yesterday and both Harrington and Price birdied the third, fourth and fifth before Price's challenge was stymied by the ninth.

Get in the wrong place on this revamped course and punishment follows. Price was under the face of a greenside bunker and took six to get down. Harrington went serenely on, however. He was out in 31 and just missed an eight-footer at the sixth which would have launched him to six birdies in a row. He also birdied the 11th, 13th and 15th and horseshoed out for another at the 17th.

Harrington was pleased with his focus and, after feeling uncomfortable on the greens over the first two days, his putting. "I worked for about an hour before the round and went close with a lot of good putts which was a good sign," he said.

Harrington made a habit of finishing second prior to winning in Brazil last month. His only other win came from a similar position in Spain four years ago. But he said: "There are no guarantees. Better players than me have lost from five in front. A five-stroke lead can dwindle away quickly here because one bad shot can cost a double bogey or worse."

Seven players will start the final round under par, one of them Adam Scott who scored a 67 to be three under. One of a number of fine young amateurs from Australia, a group which includes Aaron Baddeley, Scott is based in Las Vegas and coached by Butch Harmon. He finished sixth at the Moroccan Open and outplayed Bernhard Langer by six strokes. "He is very talented," said Langer. "He has a calm head, keeps cool and is eager. He is ready to go out on tour right now."

Colin Montgomerie will not be retaining his title after he trailed Jean Van de Velde by three strokes in their private tussle. A 73, with only one birdie all day, left Monty on two over. His game has been mysteriously off-key following the flawless golf with which he won the French Open last weekend. But what of the curious case of Lee Westwood?

Having complained of not being interested in an 8am tee-time yesterday, the 27-year-old will be off half-an-hour earlier today. A 76 left Westwood at 11 over par. An outward 42 included three double-bogeys. "I am not playing very well," he said, "and I don't know what to do to fix it. I have not put the work in. I am losing interest because I know I haven't put the work in and that's because I have not been motivated."

After all the success Westwood has enjoyed, reaching fifth place in the world and over £3m, this is a new experience for the Worksop man. "I have won 18 times in three and a half years but maybe it has all caught up with me. I am just not interested in playing golf when I am not competing. I know I can win at even 70 per cent.

"It's making me miserable rather than angry," he added. "I get frustrated very quickly. All it would take is a couple of good rounds, but it is hard to see where they are going to come from when I'm hitting so many destructive shots."

Having worked with David Leadbetter in America in March, Westwood has been back with his old coach Pete Cowen this week. Now this head is filled with 50 swing thoughts. "There is no point getting to fifth in the world and being satisfied and not trying to improve," he said. The theory is entirely understandable.

"You have to try to look at the likes of Tiger, Duval, Monty and Love and see why they are better. But maybe I went about it the wrong way. Perhaps I should have continued to work on what I was doing, try and perfect that. I'm trying to get to the next level but maybe I'm listening to too many people. But it is these slumps when you find out how good you are and how good the team are around you."

Westwood, who was married at the start of last year, admits there is more to his life these days than just golf. He missed the cut at the Masters, and typical of his experience on the course is to hit a four-iron to four feet and then send the putt five feet past. "I pull the first tee shot into a trap and think, 'here we go again'. A lot of people in their Sunday morning medals will know the feeling." They will indeed.