It wasn't as if summer had graced us with its presence, but for the first time in almost two years of professional tournament golf in this country, the weather wasn't the story. Still, there won't be too many European Tour blazers or their frustrated Irish sponsors buying into the Green lobby for a while. The game here is crying out for a bit of global warming.

If the improvement in the conditions was a godsend for the Smurfit Kappa European Open considering the clutch of high-profile refuseniks, as well as the paltry attendance on Friday, it wasn't enough for the organisers to restore the lay-out to its usual state for yesterday's third round, with the 18th hole . . . normally a fearsome par five of 578 yards . . . once again reduced to a short par three due to another dose of overnight rain.

While the course's sodden rough remained a threat, there were early signs that some of the lay-out's teeth had been removed. Peter O'Malley surged from the nether regions of the field to high on the leaderboard with an impressive best-of-theweek 63 that included seven birdies and no dropped shots.

If the 42-year-old Australian, whose last win in Europe was in 2001, has created an unexpected chance of victory given that he's currently in 71st place in the Order of Merit, there were also significant moves from Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina who carded a 64, from Soren Hansen and from Peter Hanson who signed off his 66 with a hole-in-one at the finishing hole.

Meanwhile, the surprise leader, Pelle Edberg, was hanging on when all had expected him to disappear without trace. At one stage, the 28-year-old Swede, who has been through the mill of the European Tour's qualifying school for eight seasons in a row, had increased his lead to three shots, but as neither of the two favourites, Colin Montgomerie and Niclas Fasth were exactly throwing in the towel, Edberg soon fell back as Hansen took the lead.

How Padraig Harrington, who once again had take antiinflammatory tablets for his knee cartilage problem, could have done with something similar to O'Malley's effort.

Badly needing some inspiration on a course which has never fitted his eye, the highest ranked player here at number 10 in the world was treading water by his exalted standards. The end-product was a 69 for 208 which leaves him too far off the pace to add this title to the Irish Open he won in May.

"Sometimes you play well and you're 10 shots behind and you can't figure it out.

Another time you're 10 shots ahead and you can't understand why everyone thinks the place is difficult, " he said.

"The scoring is very good, and it's a bad sign when you think everyone else if playing well, but I've never really competed on this course. That's just the way it is."

By contrast, Graeme McDowell was heading in the right direction. His bogeyfree 65 for a six-under-par total of 204 might not be enough of a springboard for a third career win later today with the leaders too far in front, but it was further proof of his current good form.

Despite suffering from a touch of flu, McDowell got his round off to the perfect start when he chipped in from close range for an eagle three at the third hole. "I actually left a few shots out there, " he said. "There are a few chances on the greens, they're great surfaces. You think you should make everything, but I haven't quite got my eye in yet. Hopefully, I'm saving it all up for the final round.

"I drove the ball very well, and you've got to do that, because if you go in the rough, you're dead. We also got lucky with the weather today. We only had one heavy shower so it felt like summer out there for a while."

Having already booked his place at the British Open in 10 days time by winning the international qualifying tournament at Sunningdale earlier in the week, there is a sense that the pressure is off McDowell, who explained that his recipe here has been to rest, limit his practice and stay off the Guinness.

"I know I'll need another low one, and I think I'm playing well enough to do it. The course is soft enough, you can be aggressive off the tee.

You can certainly attack the pin positions. There is a low number to be had and I'm just hoping that nobody goes crazy in front of me."

Meanwhile, David Higgins, who had battled his way into the weekend on the cut line, added a second successive 68 which at one stage appeared as if it was going to be substantially better. Four under par for the day after 10 holes, some wayward driving cost him as he ran up three bogeys in a row between the 11th and the 13th.