Defending champion Harrington chasing a repeat at British Open

Defending British Open champion Padraig Harrington put himself in position for a repeat, claiming a share of the lead Saturday at blustery Royal Birkdale.

With winds gusting close to 40 mph (64 kph), Harrington was joined at the top by Jim Furyk, K.J. Choi and 53-year-old Greg Norman, looking to become golf's oldest major champion at the oldest of the big four tournaments.

Anything close to par was a brilliant score on this day. While the sun finally came out after two gloomy days, the wind off the Irish Sea really picked up, holding up shots and sending them flying off line. One player, Anthony Kim, saw his ball blow off the green after he had marked it ready for a putt.

"It was probably about as tough as you can play out there," said 2003 Open winner Ben Curtis, who was thrilled to get off the course with a even par 70 and a share of the clubhouse lead _ at 7-over 217.

David Duval felt Birkdale's wrath. The 2001 Open champion quickly fell out of contention with an ugly 10-over 44 on the front side, going from three shots off the lead to 10.

Choi began the day as the only player under par through 36 holes, but a double-bogey on the massive sixth hole put him in the same company as everyone else. When he three-putted from just off the green at No. 8, the South Korean found himself in a four-way tie for the lead.

Clearly comfortable in the windy conditions, Harrington knocked in two birdies on the front side, including a chip-in at No. 5, and made the turn with a 34 that kept him at 2 over for the tournament. On Wednesday, he wasn't even sure if he'd be able to play because of a sore wrist.

Norman, a two-time Open winner who married tennis great Chris Evert three weeks ago, got off to a shaky start with bogeys on three of his first six holes. But a 364-yard drive at No. 8 set him up for an 8-foot birdie putt that brought a smile back to his face.

Jim Furyk was grinding out a solid round of his own. The 2003 U.S. Open winner closed the front side with two straight birdies, getting back to even for his round and part of the pack at 2 over.

No one else was within three strokes of the leaders. Camilo Villegas and Robert Allenby were tied at 5 over, with five more players another shot back.

Duval was hoping to show he has regained the form that carried him to the world's No. 1 ranking and the claret jug at Lytham. But, coming off a second-round 68, he returned to the form that sent his career into a seven-year skid that he's still struggling to halt.

The wind carried Duval's second shot of the day into the tall, tangly grass right of the green, forcing him to take a penalty drop for an unplayable lie. He wound up with a triple-bogey, which was just the start of his woes.

Duval bogeyed the next three holes before finally making his first par at No. 5. But a double-bogey at the sixth was quickly followed by two more bogeys.

Norman yanked his opening tee shot into the tall grass, had to punch out and took bogey. The Shark made another at the third, where a 4 1/2-foot putt rolled all the way around the edge of the cup and stayed out, dropping him three strokes behind Choi.

By the turn, Norman had caught the 36-hole leader.

The wind was the main story. Phil Mickelson's cap blew off in the middle of the 15th fairway. A course worker retrieved it for Lefty, who shot a 76 that likely erased whatever faint hopes he had for contending on Sunday. Anthony Kim, who carded a 71 for 7-over 217, was caught in a long delay at the 10th after he marked his ball on the green only for the wind to then blow it backwards 15 yards and off the putting surface. He called a rules official who stopped play at the hole until the wind had died down.

"It felt like we went through a war especially on 10 we had that 45 minute delay," Kim said. "I didn't know what was going on. I waited and wondered if they were going to call play."

It was possible to go low, but Curtis had to hole out from 165 yards at No. 3 to do it. The American turned away in disgust after hitting the shot, but the wind blew it back on line _ and right into the cup for an eagle 2. He was tied at 217 with England's Ross Fisher (71) and Kim, who eagled 17 after 10 straight pars.

Davis Love III and Henrik Stenson also shot 70 to sneak onto the leaderboard.

Villegas found the going much tougher after closing Friday's round with five straight birdies for a 65, the best round of the tournament so far and certainly unreachable on Saturday. He bogeyed two of the first four holes and was trying to hang on.