Woods on brink of breaking title drought at Tour Championship

Tiger Woods stood on the brink of his first victory for more than five years after opening a three-shot lead over Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy in the third round of the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Saturday.

Woods exuded a sense of calm as he contemplated his chances of what given his 42 years and surgical history would be perhaps his greatest triumph, at least outside of his 14 major titles.

And he had every reason to fancy his chances given his history as a front-runner of the highest order.

He has enjoyed the sole lead 44 times entering the final round, and has converted all but twice. And he has never coughed up a lead of three shots or more.

"Simple math says that if I play a clean card the guys behind me have to shoot 67, so that helps," Woods told reporters after a five-under-par 65 at East Lake.

"I don't have to shoot 63 or 64 and hope I get help. That's a big difference. This is a spot I'd much rather be in than four or five back.

"I feel good about it. I've been playing well throughout the entire summer, just piecing it together, building, building and building.

"Finally I've come to a point where I've got control of the lead."

A victory on Sunday would be his 80th on tour -- two short of Sam Snead's record -- and his first since the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August, 2013.

Woods has not been the closer of old in his return this year from a spinal fusion, most notably at the British Open at Carnoustie where he charged into the lead halfway through the final round before faltering.

But he said he had felt comfortable on that occasion, even if he did not hoist the Claret Jug.

"When I grabbed the lead at the Open Championship (it) didn't really feel abnormal, even though it's been years since I've been in those spots," he said.

"Today was the same. I got off to just an ideal start ... and the next thing you know I'm off and running."

Indeed he was, a blistering start reminiscent of his halcyon days as he notched six birdies in the first seven holes after starting the day tied for the halfway lead with world number one Rose.

"I felt hot early for sure," Woods said. "I was hitting it absolutely dead flush, the putts I was hitting were going in and from there I just tried to hang in there."

He cooled off on the back nine en route to a 12-under 198 total, while Englishman Rose recovered from a bogey, bogey start to card a 68. Woods led by five strokes late on, but showed a hint of fragility by fluffing a pitch shot at the par-four 16th, where he failed to carry his ball up the slope.

But with a double-bogey looming, he regrouped to hit his next delicate shot stone dead for a tap-in bogey, before Rose sank an eight-foot birdie to cut the gap to three.

McIlroy, meanwhile, birdied the 16th and 18th holes to join the fray, setting up the prospect of a Sunday to remember. 

(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Ed Osmond/Nick Mulvenney)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Spieth leapfrogs Stenson for Tour Championship lead

ATLANTA - Jordan Spieth used the magic of his putter to overtake Henrik Stenson and grab a one-stroke lead after Saturday's water-logged third round of the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.

American Spieth poured in a 20-foot birdie putt at the last to cap off a two-under-par 68 that lifted him to an eight-under total of 202 on a layout left drenched after a second successive day of rain.

"It was a fantastic day, two-under in these conditions," a smiling Spieth said. "I'm very pleased with where we stand going into tomorrow, and Henrik's going to come back very strong. This was his off day and so I'm going to have to play even better."

The 22-year-old, quiet the last month after a sensational first half of the year in which he won the Masters and U.S. Open among four titles, stayed within striking distance with a remarkable par-save on 16 and a two-putt from 72 feet on 17.

"Sixteen and 18 were great," he said. "Sixteen was a bit of a slight double breaker, mainly broke right-to-left. Just kind of have to cast it out with the right speed and hopefully it takes the right amount of break.

"I visualize where I think it needs to go and it happened to do just that," added Spieth, who has not had a three-putt in 82 holes.

Swede Stenson began the drizzly day with a three-shot lead over Spieth, but his mastery of the venerable course waned in the soggy conditions as he posted four bogeys and two birdies for 72 and a 203 aggregate.

Stenson clung to a one-shot lead before bogeying the 17th after knocking his approach into the right bunker, short-siding himself to the pin with the green sloping away. His sand shot ran 35 feet past the cup and he two-putted for bogey.

"Wet, muddy, tough," said Stenson, who led wire-to-wire in winning the 2013 Tour Championship and FedExCup at East Lake and led after each of the first two rounds this year.

"I think everyone's soaking wet and muddy and needs a good wash out for tomorrow."

SOLVING EAST LAKE'S PUZZLE

Tied for third place, four strokes off the pace at 206, were Rickie Fowler, who best solved the East Lake puzzle on Saturday with a three-under 67, and Englishman Paul Casey, who shot 71.

Four-times major winner Rory McIlroy (70) and British Open champion Zach Johnson (71) were another shot behind at three under par.

McIlroy suffered from awkward stances above greenside bunkers for a bogey at 16 and a double-bogey at the 18th that dropped him back from five-under.

"I just couldn't get a stance to where I could aim directly at the pin," the Northern Irishman explained about the last hole.

"I was aiming about 10 feet right of the pin and trying to hood the club face and sort of manufacture some sort of shot."

The improvised chip ran off the green and into rough and he stubbed his next chip on the way to a double.

Besides the nearly $1.5 million first prize, a victory for any of Spieth, Stenson or Fowler would also clinch them the $10 million FedExCup playoffs bonus.

Players struggled through a second successive soggy day at East Lake, and although they were allowed to lift, clean and place balls on the saturated fairways, the 7,300 yard layout played much longer and thoroughly tested the elite field of 28.

A dry day is forecast for Sunday's final round and the awarding of the FedExCup jackpot. (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com