Ever felt like a wallflower at a dance when your best friend waltzes the night away? That's how the other four Irish survivors into the final 36 holes of the European Open have spent the time as Darren Clarke continued to hog the limelight at the K Club yesterday.

Not that any of his fellow-Irish professionals were complaining. Far from it.

Indeed, Padraig Harrington wouldn't mind discovering a similar putting streak. Yesterday, the Dubliner abandoned the new blade he had trusted to his bag for the first two rounds and switched back to the Scotty Cameron that he has used for much of the season.

The result was much more confidence, especially with his short putts, but Harrington was still forced to birdie the last for a 71 which left him on three-under-par 213.

He bogeyed the second, when his approach found water on the left, but at the seventh Harrington, with 260 yards to the flag, produced a superb three-wood approach and nearly holed out with the eagle chip. A bogey at the eighth was rubbed out with a birdie at the 14th, before his two-putt birdie at the 18th brought a smile back to his face.

Meanwhile, Des Smyth's success in making the cut effectively secures his tour card for next year, "unless I fall down to the reserve money," he said. However, for the second day running, Smyth was forced to rescue his round on the back nine. On Saturday, he had back-to-back double bogeys at the sixth and seventh and, yesterday, he went double bogey-bogey at the same two holes.

"I've been in the Liffey so often there and still haven't caught a salmon," quipped Smyth.

Still, he got his first birdie of the day at the eighth, where he pitched dead, and then took three birdies out of the opening four holes on the homeward journey to finish with a 72 for two-under-par 214.

Damien McGrane's appearances in European Tour events are somewhat limited, but the Wexford club professional again showed he has the nerve to play with the big guns. Unfortunately, he suffered a three-putt bogey (from 15 feet) at the finish hole yesterday and finished alongside Smyth on 214.

Philip Walton, meanwhile, only managed one birdie in a round for 76 that pushed him out to three-over-par 219.