Harrington leads as Alker slips to second

Padraig Harrington spent the afternoon pouring in birdie putts and buying drinks.

The Irishman will need a mix of fortunes to overtake Steven Alker for the Charles Schwab Cup.

Harrington shot a nine-under 62 to take a five-shot lead over Alker in the third round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship yesterday.

The two will be paired again for today’s final round, with Harrington needing a victory and Alker outside the top five to win the season-long Schwab Cup.

‘‘I’ve always been a better chaser than leader,’’ Harrington said. ‘‘We’ll go and see tomorrow what happens. I’ve certainly given myself a few options.’’

Harrington had four straight birdies on the back nine to reach 21-under in the PGA Tour Champions finale. The run put him in such a good mood he bought drinks for fans who had been giving him a hard time on the No 15 tee at Phoenix Country Club.

The three-time PGA Tour major winner closed his bogey-free round with a two-putt birdie on No18. Alker struggled to get putts to fall and shot 68, but had his third straight bogey-free round to reach 16-under, giving him some cushion in the race for the Schwab Cup.

‘‘It’s there to take,’’ Alker said. ‘‘I’ve got a lot of chasing to do now to win the tournament, but yeah, get a good night’s sleep and we’ll be all right.’’

Brian Gay shot 66 to reach 15-under. Alex Cejka is at 14-under after a 63, and Retief Goosen shot 68 to hit 13-under.