Padraig Harrington rolls back the years to give himself a shot at USPGA glory

Enda Conway

They don’t call it ‘moving day’ for nothing.

It’s been a tough weekend for the Irish at the USPGA.

So tough in fact that Rory McIlroy is already in New York to watch Carl Frampton fight Leo Santa Cruz later this evening, Shane Lowry is wondering aloud what the point of it all is and Graeme McDowell’s biggest contribution to the final major of the season was his brilliant response to a moronic fan.

WATCH: Graeme McDowell puts idiot fan back in his box with brilliant response https://t.co/8uD9KHz0HE

— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 30, 2016

Well cometh the hour, cometh the man.

Padraig Harrington was the last Irish man standing and he’s still very much on his feet after a stunning third-round 65, five-under par, to leave himself -4 for the tournament and put himself in with a real shout of being in the mix on Sunday.

Eight years after he won this competition at Oakland Hills, Harrington was in imperious form in a bogey-less round.

He hit birdies on the 5th, 6th, 12th, 14th and 18th.

At the culmination of his round he remained five shots behind the leaders after the second round, so it remains to be seen exactly what his task will be on the final day but he will be in with a chance of a top 10 finish at the very least.

65 for @padraig_h. He's now -4 for the tournament #PGAChamp https://t.co/c9gX347aNk

— PGA Amateur Golf (@PGAAmateurGolf) July 30, 2016

Unsurprisingly his performance did a lot to cheer the spirits of Irish golf fans who had suffered on the opening two days.

Brilliant performance by evergreen Padraig Harrington -5 today, -4 and tied 9th in fourth major. Huge performance!

— Michael Dwyer (@MichaelDwyer64) July 30, 2016