Woods still holding off determined British Open field
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Not so fast, laddie.
Tiger Woods’ four-shot lead was cut in half on Saturday, and while the nine-time major champion is still an odds-on favorite to repeat as a St. Andrews British Open winner, at least there will be a smidgen of suspense left on the Old Course today.
Woods refused to let his round get away from him and in characteristic fashion, battled his way to a hard-earned 71, 1-under par. That also was enough to let some big-name players back into the mix.
At 12-under 204 for the week (seven shots off his 2000 winning score) Woods tees off today with two-time Masters champ Jose Maria Olazabal (68), who is two shots behind. Two-time U.S. Open champ Retief Goosen, who moved into contention with a third-round 66, and hometown favorite Colin Montgomerie (70) go off in a tie for third place, three shots back.
Sergio Garcia is four back after a 69, while Vijay Singh (71) and U.S. Open champ Michael Campbell (68) are five back, all within striking distance should Woods somehow falter. It should be noted, however, that Woods is 9 for 9 in closing the deal when leading a major after 54 holes.
“I know, as well as everyone else knows in this field, that Tiger has probably had his hiccup today and he got around under par,” a wary Montgomerie said after watching Woods hit into two gorse bushes, out of rough and over the 16th green, then salvage his round with an exhibition of clutch putting over the last three holes – which may end up being the key to a victory today.
“Today was tough,” Woods nodded, noting that the winds picked up after the lead groups teed off. “The greens got hard and the fairways got even harder.
“I thought if I got under par for the day, the way the day was turning, I more than likely would have a piece of the lead,” he said.
Woods was unable to take advantage of the birdie holes that he has owned all week but he was still coasting along with a three-shot lead until 16. That’s where his 8-iron approach shot bounded over the green, leaving him an impossibly long chip back into the grain. That left him with “only one” option.
“Into the grain, I had to get some speed and get underneath it,” he explained. “I tried to hit it with speed and got too much of it and it took off.”
It didn’t stop until it was 40 feet past the hole the other way. He left his first putt 5 feet short, and, in what may have been his most important putt of the day, saved bogey with a tough 5-footer.
Then on 17, Woods hit 4-iron off the tee into the rough on the famous Road Hole and left an approach shot short of the ball-eating bunker. Woods did all he could to stop the chip 10 feet past, then rolled that one into the heart of the cup. He gestured at the ball with exhilaration as it fell.
On 18, Woods hit 3-wood onto the left portion of the green and needed to putt across its expanse almost 50 yards. After watching Montgomerie hit it as hard as he could and still come up 35 feet short, Woods blasted his and watched it roll to within tap-in distance.
Olazabal, who eagled the par-4 12th after driving the green, also birdied 18 to get within a stroke of Woods at the time. Goosen, with the benefit of easier conditions earlier, ran off eight birdies in his round and is certainly capable of going low again.
Still, that final birdie left golf’s best closer with the Claret Jug to lose.
“I think it certainly doesn’t hurt,” Woods said of his record as a finisher. “Having the experience to call upon and know how to handle going out there and playing with the lead, I’ve done it before.”
“He copes with the pressure and the situation around him, being Tiger Woods, incredibly well,” Montgomerie said.