Olazabal and Harrington in contention

European captain Jose Maria Olazabal still has a chance to kick off Ryder Cup year with his first win for seven years, while Padraig Harrington is also very much in contention.

After a wet and wild day that saw his fellow Spaniard Pablo Martin crash to a 90 and overnight leader Branden Grace take 75, Olazabal is only two shots off the pace going into the final round of the Volvo Golf Champions at Fancourt in South Africa.

By far the lowest-ranked player in the 35-man winners-only European Tour event, the 46-year-old stands eight under par, two behind Grace and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts.

Olazabal, currently 596th in the world, managed a one-under-par 72 despite driving into the bushes with his opening shot of the day and then taking a double-bogey five on the 17th when his ball kicked into more trouble.

That looked to be very costly, but Grace - four clear at halfway just like Colsaerts had been after his opening course-record 64 - double-bogeyed the same hole.

In contrast, big-hitting Colsaerts eagled the last for a 69, needing only a drive and eight iron to make the green on the 549-yard hole.

He and Grace, last man in after winning last week's Joburg Open, are a shot in front of two more South Africans, Retief Goosen and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, with Olazabal alone in fifth.

After reaching the 14th hole on level par for the day, Padraig Harrington birdied three of the last four holes to reach seven under par for the tournament, just three shots of the lead going into tomorrow's final round.