Harrington slide continues

Harrington, seeking to emulate Peter Thomson's Open hat-trick of 1954-56, made the cut by a single shot, the Irishman lying eight strokes off the pace on three over par following rounds of 69 and 74.

The 37-year-old got off to the perfect start with a birdie on the first from 10ft, but he then missed from similar range on the second, three-putted the third for bogey and dropped another stroke at the par-five seventh. A double bogey on the eighth took Harrington out in 38, and further bogeys on the 12th and 14th meant the three-time major winner was eight over par and 13 shots off the lead.

Harrington, of course, came from six shots back going into the final round of his first Open triumph at Carnoustie in 2007, but having missed his last five cuts in Europe and America before this week, there appeared virtually no chance of a repeat of such heroics.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy was also struggling badly, covering the front nine in 40 and also dropping shots on the 12th and 14th to slump to 10 over par.

The tricky scoring conditions - with a similar wind blowing to yesterday - meant it took just over four and a half hours for anyone to break into the top 20, Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee managing it with birdies at the fifth and seventh taking him to one under par.

Soon after, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell also improved to one under with a hat-trick of birdies from the fifth, while American Bryce Molder had set the early clubhouse target on level par after a round of 67.

The final group were not due out until 3pm, with 59-year-old Tom Watson - seeking a remarkable sixth Open title - playing alongside Open rookie Steve Marino, the world number 77 experiencing his first links golf this week.