Darren Clarke could still manage a smile after plummeting from the top of the leaderboard to a share of 18th place in the third round of the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth yesterday. While not enhancing his bank balance, his attitude spoke volumes for a growing maturity which is certain to be productive in the longer term.

Whatever their talents, golfers are going to encounter grim days while plying their craft. And Clarke was sensible enough to recognise this fact of sporting life.

"It's very hard to take, particularly when you're swinging the club so well," he said. "I never expected anything like this and I tried my damndest to make something happen. But my best simply wasn't good enough."

He seemed to be totally in control of matters when reaching the green with a five-iron second at the long fourth, to set up a two-putt birdie and move to 11 under par. Two holes later, he found himself on a slippery slope from which there seemed no escape.

It started with a bunkered wedge at the sixth. Standing outside the trap, his attempted recovery from an upslope was thinned through the green, leading to a double-bogey six. Another bunkered approach led to a bogey at the eighth.

The most severe damage was done, however, at the 186-yard 10th where, after misjudging a six-iron tee-shot, he again thinned a wedge over the green to run up another double bogey. And his third double-bogey of the round came at the 16th, where a pulled three-wood tee-shot pitched into a hazard on the left.

Colin Montgomerie, the joint leader at this stage, beat par only three times, while Clarke did so on four occasions. The crucial differences, however, were that the Scot had two eagles and a birdie, against four birdies from the Tyroneman; and Monty never dropped a stroke while Clarke dropped nine through the three double-bogeys and three bogeys. Such is tournament golf.

Des Smyth was delighted to complete a level-par 72 in semidarkness on Saturday night. But he was less pleased with the same outcome yesterday, particularly since he had improved his position by two strokes over the opening six holes.

His problems from then on were caused largely by some remarkable lapses with the broom-handle putter. He missed from 18 inches when running up a bogey at the 12th, from two-and-a-half feet for another bogey at the short 14th and he three-putted the 16th, missing from three feet.

"I can only blame indecisiveness," he said dejectedly. "Here I am, trying desperately to earn my card and I'm throwing chances away. Having made eight cuts this season, I should have earned the necessary £60,000 for my card by now. Instead, all I have to show is £26,500."

He then made the fascinating point that missing short putts with the broom-handle is nowhere as debilitating as with the short putter. "It's a lot easier on the nerves," he conceded.

Padraig Harrington, languishing in 49th position after a level-par 72, will need to make some headway today if he is to have a chance of securing one of the five British Open exemptions on offer here. They will go to the leading five players in the Order of Merit tonight, who are not otherwise exempt.

Harrington was almost as profligate as Clarke, in that he carded two eagles and a birdie. The eagles came at the 501-yard fourth, which he reduced to a three-wood, eight-iron and 15-foot putt, and at the 510-yard 12th, where a three-iron approach was followed by a 25-footer.

"I'm disappointed to have lost ground like this, especially after missing only one green," he said. Philip Walton was progressing favourably until the difficult back nine where he had three bogeys in four holes from the 13th, on the way to a 74.

Lesley Nicholson took another big step towards a place in the Britain and Ireland team for the Vagliano Trophy match in July by claiming the St Rule Trophy at St Andrews.

The Edinburgh University student, who won the Scottish women's open amateur strokeplay championship at Troon earlier this season, finished the 54 holes on 227 with a two-stroke win.