European Tour

D+D REAL Czech Masters 2018

August 23-26

Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic

€1,000,000

August 23-26

Albatross Golf Resort, Prague, Czech Republic

€1,000,000

Round 3

Harrington hunting sweet 16th title in Prague

Round 1

Round 2

Round 4

Round 1

Round 2

Round 4

August 25, 2018

Three-time Major winner and Ryder Cup Vice Captain Padraig Harrington will vie for a 16th European Tour title at the D+D Real Czech Masters after a classy third round performance handed the Irishman a share of the lead heading into the final round, alongside Italian Andrea Pavan.

- Getty Images

Harrington, who made a late call to compete at Albatross Golf Resort – so late, in fact, that he had no sweater in his suitcase to keep warm in the chilly conditions in Prague – has dropped just one solitary shot all week as he continues to turn around a tough season in spectacular fashion."

“To be honest, I came from the States, I was there for four weeks and I've no sweater in the suitcase! It was 90 degrees Fahrenheit plus all the time in America and there was a good forecast all week here too, so you'll see me in my polo shirt tomorrow."

“You've got to go out there expecting a roller-coaster, you'd love it not to be but that's what you've got to prepare yourself for – that you'll make some mistakes mentally, you'll get good and bad breaks, you'll hole some putts and you'll miss some. You've got to prepare yourself for that. It's too much to dream of a nice perfect day so we'll prepare ourselves for a bit of everything."

The 46 year old Dubliner carded his best round of the week, a seven under 65, to share the lead with Pavan – who also carded a flawless 65 in tricky conditions – on 17 under.

“It was very good, seven under was just a very good round and I hit it very well off the tee, I was always in play which is very nice," said Pavan. "I putted really well especially on the back nine, I made a lot of good putts and a couple of good par saves."

“Putting has definitely been key this week, I've been good off the tee and good enough with my approach shots in the last couple of days and today towards the end it was a little bit more difficult, I missed a couple of shots but the putter did a lot of good work."

“I'm definitely looking forward to playing with Padraig tomorrow. It's the first time I'm in this position on the European Tour so it will be good, probably a long day but I'll just try to keep doing my own thing and not watch him too much. He's obviously won lot of tournaments and has a lot og experience so I will try to enjoy it as much as I can.”

The two will face off tomorrow in an intriguing battle as Harrington seeks to join the 14 th most decorated European Tour player in history, Mark McNulty, on 16 European Tour titles, while four-time Challenge Tour winner Pavan chases a maiden victory at the top table.

Gavin Green, meanwhile, retains hope of becoming the first Malaysian winner on the tour as he lies three shots off the leaders in outright third place, following a battling two under par 70. Scott Jamieson is a shot further back, on his own in fourth, while Ryder Cup hopefuls Eddie Pepperell and Thomas Pieters are both six shots off the lead in a four-way tie for 11 th position.

“I struggled off the tee, I was everywhere today," said Green. "I have to feel for Jeff (Winther), he must have felt we were in different groups today. But I recovered really well and putted pretty decent, had a couple of really good lag putts that gave me pars on the par fives."

“But I ground it out and shot two under and I'm still in the hunt tomorrow so it's OK, not terrible. It's going to be fun tomorrow , I'm enjoying it and just having fun and trying to shoot as many under as I can."