Woods, Goosen share third-round Augusta lead
Mark Lamport-Stokes
Defending champion Tiger Woods fired a six-under-par 66 to move into a share of the lead in the U.S. Masters third round on Saturday after early pacesetters Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh both faltered on the back nine.
The 26-year-old Woods, bidding for a third green jacket at a damp Augusta after steady morning rain, began the round four strokes behind leader Singh but finished the day level with Goosen at 11-under-par 205.
Goosen, the U.S. Open champion, was one ahead of the field playing the last but ran up a bogey-five after pushing his tee shot right into the trees.
The smooth-swinging South African had to settle for a 69 and a share of the lead on a dry but overcast afternoon in high humidity.
Singh, the 2000 winner, had been joint-pacesetter with playing partner Goosen at 11 under after 14 holes but dropped shots at 15 and 17 to slip back to third at nine-under 207 after carding a level-par 72.
Left-hander Phil Mickelson, aiming for his first major in his 35th professional start, carded a tidy 68 to finish the day in a share of fourth place at seven-under 209, alongside Ernie Els (72) and Spaniard Sergio Garcia (70).
Six of the world's top seven filled the top six spots in a high-quality leader board, with British Open champion David Duval the only absentee after he missed the second-round cut by a stroke.
Woods, aiming to become the third player only to win back-to-back Masters titles, dropped a solitary shot at the par-three fourth and collected seven birdies as he relentlessly climbed into a tie for the lead on what is traditionally termed "moving day" in championship golf.
"I rolled the rock (the ball) pretty well today and hit some pretty good putts," the world number one said afterwards. "The only putt I missed today was on nine. I felt like I played pretty well.
PLAYING TOUGH
"The course is playing tough though, because the fairways are so wet and you can catch flyers.
"I hit some good par putts in the morning session to keep the momentum going and this afternoon I just kept it going."
"My round started out nicely -- any time you start with three birdies is quite comfortable and makes you feel a bit more relaxed," said the 33-year-old Goosen, who won last week's BellSouth Classic on the U.S. PGA Tour.
"I also made a few good up-and-downs so, overall, l'm pretty happy. I'm looking forward to tomorrow -- it's nice to be in the position to have a chance, to see if I can win."
Mickelson began the third round five off the lead and stayed in touch with a blemish-free performance that featured four birdies.
"I played well enough today to put myself in position to shoot a low number tomorrow -- which I will need to do to have any chance of winning," Mickelson said.
"The golf course is susceptible to birdies at the moment, even though it is playing long after all the rain."
Goosen, showing excellent form on the greens, had set the early third-round pace when he birdied the first three holes.
The big-hitting South African, one behind leader Singh when the rain-hit second round was finally completed in the morning, holed a monster putt from 35 feet for birdie one at the par-four first.
He then holed out from 10 feet at the 575-yard second and sank a curling 20-footer to pick up his third shot at the par-four third.
TWO AHEAD
That moved the 32-year-old South African to 11 under for the tournament, two ahead of Singh who could only par his first three holes.
Singh led after 36 holes following rounds of 70 and 65.
Brad Faxon eagled the par-four 11th during the third round with a six iron from 193 yards on his way to a 69 and a one-under total of 215.
His eagle was the second only at that hole in Masters history, the first having been achieved by Jerry Barber in the first round of the 1962 tournament.
Earlier, the halfway cut was made at three-over-par 147, with 45 players advancing to the third round.
Bernhard Langer extended his run of consecutive Masters cuts made to 19, just four behind the record 23 held by Gary Player.
Among players failing to make the cut were Duval (148) and former Masters winners Larry Mize (148), Mark O'Meara (149) and Ian Woosnam (155).
Four-times Masters winner Arnold Palmer completed his final competitive round at Augusta with a 13-over-par 85 in front of packed galleries.
The 72-year-old golfing legend, who won the Masters in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964, ended up at 30 over par, following his opening 89 on Thursday.
