Harrington bid for 3rd title in tatters after a 76

TURNBERRY, Scotland - Padraig Harrington's bid to become the first player in 53 years to win the British Open three times in a row virtually ended Saturday when he shot a 6-over 76 to fall 14 shots off the lead at Turnberry.

Winner of a playoff at Carnoustie in 2007 and a second title at Royal Birkdale by 4 shots last year, the 37-year-old Irishman was never in contention this time around. His error-ridden third round underlined his poor form coming into the championship.

Harrington missed five cuts on the European and PGA Tours, although he won a low-key tournament in Ireland before heading for Turnberry.

"I think my challenge faded on (holes) seven and eight," he said in reference to his bogey-double bogey sequence. "I needed things to go well for me, hole a few putts and do a few things.

"I was just poor today and made the wrong decisions. On a windy, tough course you need things to be going with you, to be feeling like you're on top of the course. I was a little bit behind the eight ball and I've not made things happen."

Harrington, who also won last year's PGA Championship, went into the third round 8 shots off the lead but convinced that his game was in good shape and that all he needed was for a few putts to drop in.

When he rolled in a 10-footer at the first, his evaluation seemed right and hopes rose of a charge up the leaderboard.

But he missed another 10-foot birdie putt at the second and then picked up his first bogey by t3-putting the third. His round went downhill from there.

Two 6s in a row - a bogey and a double bogey - meant he dropped more shots by the turn, and 3 more bogeys on the back nine effectively ruined his championship chances as he finished the third round to stand 9-over 219.

"I actually got three putts up to the hole all day and three-putted all of them," he said. "It wasn't my day."