Graeme McDowell was satisfied with a steady day's work after a third consecutive 70 put the Portrush pro firmly in contention at the Volvo China Open.

Starting at two under, McDowell had a mixed start at a blustery Shanghai Silport GC with consecutive bogeys at the second and third and - after a fourth-hole birdie - a further dropped shot at the seventh.

However, an eagle at the eighth put his challenge back on track on a day when scoring proved particularly difficult and he played the inward nine to par to end the day three shots behind leader Markus Brier.

"I played pretty solidly," McDowell said. "It was a difficult day again as it was the same wind direction that we had on Thursday, which made the course pretty tough.

"I got off to a sloppy enough start in bogeying two and three but steadied the ship and then had a great eagle on eight. I played some decent golf on the back nine but lost the speed of the greens a little bit towards the end.

"I three-putted for a five on par-five 14th, which was disappointing, but I can't complain too much."

Peter Lawrie is only three shots back from McDowell on level par after the
Dubliner birdied the last for a one-under-par 70.

Damien McGrane lost considerable ground with a disappointing 76 to drop back to three over where he is joined by Gary Murphy (73).

McGrane looked set to mount a creditable challenge after moving to three under with a birdie at the eighth, but a bogey five at the ninth pegged the 36-year-old back to even par for the day at the turn.

Disaster then struck on the homeward nine as a run of bogeys from the 11th to the 15th effectively ended his hopes.

The lead is held by Austria's Marcus Brier, whose 67 gives him a one shot lead on six under from his fellow countryman Scott Hend (70).  South African Andrew McLardy (67) holds third on four-under.

McDowell is joined on three under by France's Raphael Jacquelin (75) and South African Richard Sterne (69).