After sharing the lead overnight with Gary Orr, Harrrington finished the day seven shots adrift of Ian Poulter, who fired a course record equalling 64 to lead on 17 under par and boost his chances of a return to the world's top 50.

While Poulter kept a bogey off his card for the third day in a row, Harrington complied a colourful scorecard that featured an eagle, five birdies, three bogeys and two double bogeys.

He said: "I felt I swung the club better and hit it better today but around the greens I just wasn't with it. I just wanted hitting the lines.

"I was four over par after five holes feeling that I have hit the ball okay and when it goes likes that it is a bit of a struggle to come back.

"It was a reasonable effort to comeback but I just didn't have the pace of the greens and I wasn't seeing the lines either.

"I was hoping to go out and win the tournament today not lose it, but if there is a course in Europe where you can shoot 59 this is it."

Harrington got off to a nightmare bogey-double bogey start . . . courtesy of three putts at the first and a thinned wedge into a bunker at the second . . . and reached the turn in three over par 39 before coming home in 33.

His back nine was in complete contrast to the front as he started birde-eagle, but his lack of focus and his inconsistency around the green saw him mix two bogeys with two birdies in the next four holes before finishing with three straight pars.

It was an equalling inconsistent day for Ryder Cup teammates Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke as they fired rounds of 67 and 69 on a day of low scoring.

Clarke's natural ball-striking talent seldom deserts him to such an extent that he cannot carve out a decent score.

That was very much the case in Madrid yesterday and while his ball-striking was not quite of his usual high standard, he got round in three under par 69 to go into the final round a hopeless 12 shots behind Poulter on seven under par.

Again, putting was Clarke's cross and while the statistics say that he used the blade a mere 26 times, he missed several greens by inches and holed only two putts of any consequence all day . . . a 15 footer for par at the fourth and a 10 footer for the second of his five birdies at the ninth.

The rest of his birdies . . . at the sixth, 10th, 11th and 16th . . . where tap in jobs from between six inches and four feet. And as Olazabal pointed out afterwards, putting is something that will be vital in matchplay combat at the K Club next week.

While Olazabal won a car for a hole-in-one at the 13th and admitted that his driving needs attention ahead of next week's event, he reiterated the importance of putting in the Ryder Cup.

"What you need more in matchplay is good driving and good putting. , " he said. "If you drive well you put the pressure on the other guy. And if you make a few putts you are taking advantage of those birdie opportunities.

"Every now and then you are going to have to save par and if you make those crucial putts that is key. There are no secrets in this game any more. We know that consistent play helps, but obviously you have to make putts."

Clarke, who had a putting lesson from Olazabal before his round, admitted that his long game was not quite as sharp as it had been over the first two rounds.

However, it is his failure to hole putts that is giving him more cause for concern and he hopes to see the ball drop for him in the final round today and shoot "a 64 or a 63" before joining his teammates on the plane to the K Club at Heathrow on Monday.

After carding five birdies and two bogeys, Clarke said: "I didn't quite play as well today as I did the previous two days. I just got off to a tough start, two putting again everywhere.

"I was working my putting a little bit with Jose there, but today my game wasn't quite as good as it has been the last two days. I will sort that out.

"I have no complaints at all apart from not knocking enough putts in. I am not hitting bad putts everywhere, they are just not going in all the time."

Damien McGrane, eighth overnight, slipped back into the pack on six under after a 74 with David Higgins a shot further back after a 73.

Dubliners Peter Lawrie and Stephen Browne broke par with rounds of 69 and 71 to finish on four under and two under respectively.