Harrington one back in US Senior Open defence
Padraig Harrington happily saddled Stewart Cink with the favourite's tag after a closing bogey left him a shot behind his former Ryder Cup rival heading into the final round of the US Senior Open at Scioto Country Club.
The Dubliner (54) is bidding to become just the second man to win the title three times.
But with Cink looking to win the first three senior Majors of the year, Harrington suggested that all the pressure is on the American.
"I think that feeling is gone now, as in Stewart is leading the tournament," Harrington said of the pressure of being the defending champion.
"It's on his shoulders. He's the one with the lead. I'm now chasing, so I don't have that feeling at all. Even today I didn't feel like that."
Cink fired the joint best round of the week, a six-under 64, to lead by a shot on nine-under from Harrington, who made five birdies in a six-hole mid-round stretch to shoot 66.
George McNeill (69) and Miguel Angel Jimenez just two and three shots behind, respectively and Harrington knows that it could be a final-round shootout with rain expected overnight.
He was briefly six strokes behind McNeill before birdies at the sixth, ninth, 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th gave him the solo lead.
A bogey at the last cost left him a shot behind Cink, who has already won The Tradition and the Senior PGA this year.
Cink describes Harrington as "the ultimate competitor" and Harrington is ready for all eventualities should the greens become more receptive.
"It's always hard to win these things," he said. "Stewart is not giving it up. George had a good day, too. I see the three of us playing tomorrow again.
"Later on in the round, if you fall three shots behind, you're going to have to just go all out. You can't be defensive at all at that stage."
Cink lost a final-round battle to Harrington last year and expects more of the same.
"He's never going to take a shot off, and I don't expect him to tomorrow either," he said.
"I'm going to have my hands full with him and all these other guys tomorrow, but mostly with Scioto and myself."
Darren Clarke shot a six-under 64 to leap from 41st to joint fifth on three-under and knows he needs a similar final round to contend, while Chris Devlin's rollercoaster 71 left the Ballymena man joint 11th on one-under.
At the BMW International Open, Bernd Wiesberger (67) and South Africa's Michael Hollick (69) share a one-shot lead heading into the final round in Munich, one stroke clear of Mexico's Carlos Ortiz on 13 under.
In Belgium, Elm Park's Anna Foster's two-over 74 left her joint sixth going into the final round of the Hulencourt Women's Open, eight strokes behind Australia's Kelsey Bennett.
In Normandy, South Africa's MJ Viljoen shot a six-under 66 to lead the Hotel Planner Tour's Vaudreuil Golf Challenge by two shots from England's Alfie Plant and Norway's Kristian Krogh Johannessen on 11 under.
Galway's Ronan Mullarney goes into the final round tied for 25th on four under after a 71, with Conor Purcell (72) back on level par and Liam Nolan (74) one over.
