Luke Donald is trumps as Laird hangs in

A SECOND world title in three weeks is in Luke Donald's sights after a third round 66 at the WGC-Cadillac Championship over the Blue Monster course at Doral.

But, having charged from 11th place and four shots back into a share of the lead, a closing bogey means England's world No.3 will still be playing catch-up when he resumes.

Scotland's Martin Laird maintained his consistency with a second successive 70 which sees him tied for ninth place, four shots off the lead, although he too bogeyed the last.

Donald, never behind all week as he won the Accenture Match Play in Tucson, is in joint second spot two behind American Dustin Johnson on 11 under par. Alongside him are two more of the home contingent, Matt Kuchar and Nick Watney.

"If I keep playing like I did today I'm going to have a chance," said 33-year-old Donald who, with Lee Westwood down on two under with Tiger Woods, could well go second in the world rankings with another victory.

The big surprise was not that Woods and Phil Mickelson, playing together for the third day in a row, failed to lift themselves out of the pack, but that new world No.1 Martin Kaymer fell back after resuming joint second. The German had a 74 and slipped to 14th, while overnight leader Hunter Mahan's two closing bogeys for a 71 means he is now three back in joint fifth spot.

Donald hit a 60-yard pitch to three feet on the long first and picked up further strokes at the fifth, sixth and eighth before starting for home with two more birdies.

The best of the day was still to come, though. In a fairway bunker at the 14th - and close to the lip - he struck his approach to seven feet and sank the putt.

However, on the difficult last, he pushed his drive, had to lay up and then missed a nine-foot par putt.

Johnson is the player who failed to break 80 in the final round of the US Open last year when three clear and he then saw his US PGA hopes crushed by a two-stroke penalty when one ahead with one to play for grounding his club in what he did not know was deemed a bunker.

He was round in a best-of-the-day 65 and took the outright lead when Watney, six under for the round at the time, drove into the water at the 18th and ran up a double-bogey six. In contrast, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy came back into the hunt with two closing birdies for a 69 and 10 under aggregate to be alongside Mahan, Francesco Molinari and Adam Scott.