Harrington fighting himself and the field

Ireland's Padraig Harrington's will go into Sunday's final round at Benson and Hedges International Open at The Belfry in a three…

Ireland's Padraig Harrington's will go into Sunday's final round at Benson and Hedges International Open at The Belfry in a three-way tie for the lead and more fearful of himself than of his fellow competitors.

Quizzed who would be the biggest threat to him winning the last ever B and H, Harrington had no doubts. "Me," he said without hesitation.

"I am the biggest threat to myself. I am much more worried about myself than anyone else."

Despite struggling in the damp miserable conditions, the Dubliner was alone atop the leaderboard on the 18th as he once again tried to save par from an up and down from the sand.

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Twice in his third round he had managed it, but a third time was simply too much to ask and Harrington had to settle for a round of one-under 71.

The bogey put Harrington at 10-under for the championship and tied with England's Paul Casey and unheralded New Zealander Stephen Scahill.

A shot further back was Angel Cabrera, who like Harrington bogeyed the 18th when he failed to get up and down from the bunker.

It was a gutsy performance from Harrington who had warned before the start of the championship that he did not expect too much from himself.

"I struggled today. I struggled a lot off the tee. I will have to play a lot better tomorrow if I am to win," he admitted.

Scahill, who began the day six behind Harrington, found himself briefly sharing the lead with Harrington thanks to near flawless golf.

It was a stunning performance from the 33-year-old Scahill who in seven years on the European Tour has never won. A second place finish in 1998 is his best finish.

Scahill went out in four-under 33 and three more birdies saw him coming home with a seven-under 65 to tie the course record.

"Probably the best round I have played, especially given the wet, cold conditions," said Scahill. The New Zealander admitted he did not know what would happen come Sunday.

"The hardest thing tomorrow is going to be mental. If I can control my mental state I can still be there at the end," he said.

Equally impressive was Casey. The 25-year-old began the day five shots back and as he reached the turn in one-under he was still five back.

But a birdie blitz coming home propelled him to 10-under for the tournament and only one back. Casey was delighted with his third round six-under 66.

"I had my game plan and I stuck with it. It worked a treat," said the Englishman, who won the Scottish PGA Championsip in 2001 in his first full season on the tour.

Colin Montgomerie, who started the day seven off the lead failed to make a move, mixing two birdies with two bogeys. England's Simon Khan, who is three-under for the championship, will not need a lift home on Sunday following a hole-in-one at the 208 yard par-three 12th.

It was worth a 36,000 pounds Toyota Land Cruiser.