The Dublin golfer is aiming to become the fifth player in history to win both The Open and ISPS HANDA Senior Open.

The Irishman, who won the Claret Jug in 2007 at Carnoustie and defended it at Royal Birkdale in 2008, carded a second consecutive round of 65 to reach 13 under par after three rounds.

Harrington made the turn two under par after birdies on the fourth and ninth holes. He then made his third gain of the day at the 11th hole. He recovered from a dropped shot on the 12th with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes and then rolled in a short putt on the 18th hole after hitting his approach to three feet.

Incredible touch from @Padraig_H

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A birdie putt at the last saw him move two strokes clear of Justin Leonard, who also carded a second consecutive round of 65. The American, who won The Open in 1997 at Royal Troon, is also bidding to etch his name in history.

Commenting on his third round, Pádraig Harrington admitted:

“I still wasn’t comfortable. Like I thought I was getting better but yeah, I don’t think I rode my luck as much today. I wasn’t out of position but I certainly didn’t play much better than yesterday. Maybe a little bit more cautious today.

“It’s always nice to come back with a bounceback and a birdie. Believe it or not, I’d prefer to make a bogey and a birdie than two pars. I think when you can get caught in that sort of, I-haven’t-made-a-bogey-for-a-while type thing, that can get in your head. So getting rid of that is not a bad thing.”

Just four players have won both The Open and Senior Open, with Darren Clarke becoming the latest to do so after triumphing in 2022. The Irishman defeated Harrington by one stroke at Gleneagles to join Bob Charles, Gary Player and Tom Watson as the only men to achieve that feat.

"I'll wait until tomorrow to try and digest that."@Padraig_H was honest when asked about his opportunities at Sunningdale pic.twitter.com/qVWOWPGPJw

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Thomas Bjørn, Europe’s victorious 2018 Ryder Cup Captain and 15-time winner on the DP World Tour, carded a three under par 67 to sit in solo third on ten under.

In a share of fourth on eight under par are 2022 KitchenAid Senior PGA Champion Steven Alker, former PGA Tour winner Greg Chalmers, 2017 Legends Tour Order of Merit winner Clark Dennis and 2002 WGC Match Play winner Kevin Sutherland.

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The Dubliner, who won and then successfully defended the Claret Jug in 2007 and 2008, carded a five under round of 65 on the Old Course at Sunningdale as he reached eight under par after the first two days.

Already a Senior Major winner this year after his U.S. Senior Open success at The Broadmoor in Colorado last month, Harrington leads by one stroke over defending champion K.J. Choi of South Korea, who hopes to become the first player to successfully defend a Senior Open title since Christy O’Connor Jnr in 2000.

Speaking after his second round on Friday, Harrington admitted:

“I rode my luck a lot today. Got my head in the game. Did a lot of good stuff mentally. Short game was sharp. But I did a good job, where I should make a score I scored, and then I got in trouble on plenty of other holes. Hit some recovery shots and managed my game, but I never showed much confidence out there at all in my swing at all.

“I obviously like these 72-hole ones and the bigger golf courses suit me. I’m glad to see there is a little bit of moisture on this course. It is starting to firm up a bit. As it’s gets a little shorter that advantage will be taken away from me. I seem to be scoring okay, so maybe I’ll do it a different way this time.”

Choi carded six birdies in his round of 67 and the 55-year-old did hold the lead at one point on nine under par after a birdie at the 14th, but two dropped shots on 16 and 17 saw him slip back into a share of second alongside 2018 European Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn.

Bjørn stormed into contention as he carded a seven under par round of 63 after starting the day level par following his opening round. The 15-time DP World Tour winner carded seven birdies and an eagle to move 41 places up the leaderboard.

Major Champions Ernie Els and Justin Leonard, also aiming to write their names in the history books as winners of both The Open and Senior Open, sit in a share of fourth place on six under par alongside Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina and Australia’s Cameron Percy.

Stephen Allan, also of Australia, and Englishman Greg Owen share eighth on five under, while Major winners Paul Lawrie, Corey Pavin and Y.E. Yang are among a clutch of golfers in a tie for tenth on four under.

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