Harrington is currently fifth in the European Order of Merit

DAY THREE LEADERBOARD:
GB & Ire unless stated
-13 B Dredge KB
-12 P Harrington CN
-9 E Loar (US) SA
Selected others:
-8 E Els (SA) CN, V Singh (Fiji) CN
-7 P Lawrie SA
-5 P Casey CN
+2 D Howell CN
+5 C Montgomerie CN
* KB: Kingsbarns, SA: St Andrews, CN: Carnoustie

Padraig Harrington kept his hopes of winning the Order of Merit alive after moving to within a shot of the lead at the Dunhill Links Championship.

Harrington had a 68 at Carnoustie with Bradley Dredge holding the lead after recording a 71 at Kingsbarns.

Current Order of Merit number one Paul Casey had a 73 at Carnoustie to lie on five under - eight shots off the lead.

His nearest rival David Howell missed the cut on two over after struggling with a shoulder injury.

The first prize of �427,000 could lift Harrington from fifth to second on the money list and, depending on the performance of Casey, to within around �70,000 of his Ryder Cup team-mate with two events remaining.

But the Irishman knows there is still a long way to go in the race to finish as European number one.

"I knew I was a long way behind in the Order of Merit but with three events still to go I set myself a goal of trying to get into the mix," he said.

"After the Ryder Cup it would be very easy to sit back and it's a bit of a downer after you win something like that, so I was trying to motivate myself.

"I knew it was a very long shot, and it still is, but it's something I'm using as a motivational tool."

Dredge won the Omega European Masters by eight shots in his previous appearance on tour and victory on Sunday would take his earnings to �655,000 for eight rounds of golf.

"I'm still learning the course at Kingsbarns, you never really master it," insisted Dredge, who will defend the World Cup title he won with Stephen Dodd in Barbados in December.

"I'll take some confidence from winning in Switzerland after leading going into the last round."