Spaceman Sullivan on another planet, Harrington 15 behind
Andy Sullivan. Picture: Getty Images
Padraig Harrington was the lone Irish mover in round three of the Portugal Masters but he still trails leader Andy Sullivan by 15 strokes heading into Sunday's 8am shotgun start on the Algarve.
As organisers try to give themselves the best possible chance of dodging bad weather, Sullivan will begin his quest for a third European Tour title of the season with a five-stroke cushion over Spain’s Eduardo De La Riva (68).
Chris Wood (65) and another Spaniard in Jorge Campillo (67) are seven back on 11 under but any remote hopes of seeing an Irishman challenge for the title were blown away in the wind.
Wet, windy conditions generally suit Harrington but as he shot a third successive one under 70 that included three twos to move up 21 place to 33rd on three under, Damien McGrane (73), Paul Dunne (77) and Kevin Phelan (76) all went the other way.
Sullivan looks almost unbeatable and his 67 sets up the chance to add to the South African Open and Joburg Open titles he claimed earlier in the year.
McGrane’s two over 73 saw him fall six spots to tied 48th on one under while Dunne’s six over 77 put paid to any hope of a Top-10 that would have given him another start in Hong KJong next week and a chance to win his card outright, without the need for Q-School.
Tied for 67th now on four over, Dunne now has to finish as well as he can and recharge before the Second Qualifying Stage of Q-School at El Saler, Las Colinas, Panoramica or Lumine Golf & Beach Club from November 6-9.
As for leader Sullivan, famous for the hole-in-one in the KLM Open that won him a space flight, he’s just happy he’s playing so well and managed to weather the tough conditions early in his round.
“I’m just playing really good golf at the moment,” Sullivan said. “I hung in there early doors, and then managed to knock a few good putts in.
"I kept that going throughout the round, and to shoot four under for the day was pretty awesome in that horrible weather out there.
“It was really tough at times, and I feel mentally drained now because I had to concentrate so hard.
"I felt like I used pretty much all the energy I had out there today, but I’ve got plenty of time to relax and recharge the batteries, which is good.”
De la Riva added: “It was very tough today with the wind, so I have to be very happy with three under. It was very difficult to control your ball in the wind and putting was also very tough, so to shoot 69 was very pleasing.
“Five shots is a lot to make up and Andy is playing very, very well. But I will try tomorrow to shoot a low round and put some pressure on him.”
Portugal Masters, Oceanico Victoria (Par 71)
195 A Sullivan (Eng) 64 64 67,
200 E De La Riva (Esp) 65 67 68,
202 C Wood (Eng) 68 69 65, J Campillo (Esp) 66 69 67,
203 N Colsaerts (Bel) 64 71 68, T Pieters (Bel) 65 66 72,
204 T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 66 68 70, T Bjørn (Den) 67 67 70, H Otto (RSA) 70 65 69, B Wiesberger (Aut) 68 64 72,
205 T Fleetwood (Eng) 69 64 72, D Drysdale (Sco) 65 71 69, A Wall (Eng) 69 64 72,
206 A Quiros (Esp) 67 68 71, G Mulroy (RSA) 69 67 70, S Gallacher (Sco) 67 71 68, E Espana (Fra) 70 67 69,
207 A Hansen (Den) 68 67 72, L Bjerregaard (Den) 72 69 66, M Korhonen (Fin) 69 69 69, R Rock (Eng) 70 67 70, T Aiken (RSA) 65 70 72, C Lee (Sco) 67 71 69,
208 B Ritthammer (Ger) 69 66 73, J Singh (Ind) 69 66 73, C Doak (Sco) 69 69 70, A Otaegui (Esp) 67 67 74, J Van Zyl (RSA) 71 67 70, S Kjeldsen (Den) 68 66 74, B Hebert (Fra) 75 64 69,
209 P Maddy (Eng) 66 69 74, A Johnston (Eng) 70 69 70,
210 S Jamieson (Sco) 67 68 75, J Kruger (RSA) 72 69 69, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 70 70 70, C Paisley (Eng) 67 67 76, O Fisher (Eng) 69 69 72, B Stow (Eng) 69 69 72,
211 G Storm (Eng) 68 70 73, J Walters (RSA) 71 68 72, S Hutsby (Eng) 72 68 71, R Wattel (Fra) 67 71 73, D Brooks (Eng) 68 69 74, R Gouveia (Por) 71 68 72, L Jensen (Den) 73 67 71, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 68 68 75, R Green (Aus) 68 70 73,
212 K Broberg (Swe) 66 70 76, Damien McGrane (Irl) 67 72 73, D Fichardt (RSA) 68 70 74, T Olesen (Den) 71 70 71, S Brown (Eng) 73 68 71, T Silva (am) (Por) 71 68 73,
213 D Gaunt (Aus) 72 69 72, M Kieffer (Ger) 71 70 72, G Bourdy (Fra) 70 69 74, R Bland (Eng) 71 70 72,
214 J Carlsson (Swe) 66 73 75, M Warren (Sco) 71 68 75, M Kaymer (Ger) 70 70 74,
215 P Lawrie (Sco) 71 70 74, R Gonzalez (Arg) 70 70 75, A Cañizares (Esp) 70 69 76,
216 G Havret (Fra) 71 70 75, B Evans (Eng) 73 68 75, R Paratore (Ita) 70 71 75,
217 J Quesne (Fra) 70 68 79, J Scrivener (Aus) 70 69 78, Paul Dunne (Irl) 68 72 77, Kevin Phelan (Irl) 70 71 76, M Lundberg (Swe) 70 69 78,
218 M Crespi (Ita) 68 73 77.
