Pádraig Harrington: More to links golf than just swinging the club

Three-time Major champion Pádraig Harrington skipped around the Old Course in three-under-par 69 on day three of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship before reminding the rest of the field that "there's a lot more to links golf than just swinging the club".

Harrington dropped just the one shot with a bogey on the short 11th and picked off three birdies to leave him on seven-under-par overall, comfortably inside the top-15 and eight shots off the lead of England's Richard Mansell.

"You have to manage your game and expectations. It does help to get ahead of the game. I started ok, I made a birdie early enough," the Dubliner told Sky Sports after his round.

"It helps to have a good start and maybe have some momentum in the group - both myself and my partner shot one-under yesterday so that does help.

"Overall, it's about managing expectations and managing your game. Sometimes a good shot, a smart shot is, dare I say, take extra club and if you hit it very well, ok you're going to be past the pin, but the likelihood in the bad weather of that actually happening...

"You just have to play very sensible golf. There's no doubt you're going to have to chip and putt well, which is something I'm good at. You need a lot of resilience and probably just the good mental fortitude of managing your way round the golf course.

Harrington first won this championship 20 years ago almost to the day and managed to pick up the trophy again four years later in 2006. When it comes to the unique questions presented by links golf, the two-time Open Champion is more qualified than most to answer.

"We're seeing it a lot more. Professional golf goes to really nice conditions, everything perfect. There's a big pool of players playing and if any one of them