By Rob Hodgetts
BBC Sport at Hoylake |
 | THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD -13 Tiger Woods (US)
-12 Sergio Garcia (Spa), Chris DiMarco (US), Ernie Els (SA)
-11 Jim Furyk (US), Angel Cabrera (Arg)
-10 Hideto Tanihara (Jap)
-9 Mark Calcavecchia (US), Adam Scott (Aus) |
Tiger Woods held off Ernie Els but saw Sergio Garcia and Chris DiMarco rise to challenge him on an absorbing third day of the 135th Open at Hoylake. Woods and Els both carded one-under 71s in the last group to give the defending champion a one-shot lead at 13 under going into Sunday's final round.
Els, Garcia (65) and DiMarco (69) ended on 12 under with Jim Furyk (66) and Angel Cabrera (66) one more adrift.
Japan's Hideto Tanahara is 10 under with Briton Greg Owen on eight under.
Former Open champion Mark Calcavecchia (68) and Australia's world number seven Adam Scott (70) are one behind Tanihara, with England's Simon Khan (68) in a logjam on six under with Australia's US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy (70).
England's Andrew Marshall (68), the last man to make the cut at about 2100 BST on Friday, is among those on five under, with countrymen Anthony Wall (71) and Robert Rock (73).
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, who led after the first round, is also on five under after a 72.
Woods has now held at least a share of the lead after 54 holes in 11 majors and he has gone on to win all of the previous 10.
"If you won before doing it that way, it always gives you confidence to know you can do that again," he said.
Woods is also bidding to become the first player to win back-to-back Opens since Tom Watson in 1982-83.
Saturday's 45,500-strong crowd sensed a surge in the Championship's momentum as the third round gathered pace, with a succession of cheers roaring across the course.
Spain's Garcia was the catalyst, with an eagle two at the 2nd and birdies at the 5th, 7th, 8th and 9th to go out in 29 and reach 11 under.
Back on the 2nd, world number one Woods dropped only his third shot of the tournament, while South Africa's Els birdied to create a three-way tie with Garcia.
Soon, Garcia's partner Furyk joined the fun with a birdie on the 11th to turn three into four.
But the quartet was short-lived as the American fell back at the next hole. Then Woods birdied the 5th to get back to square one.
Woods reached 13 under at the 6th but dropped a shot via the left greenside bunker on the 7th as Els also made bogey after dropping out of a gorse bush to slip to 10 under.
Els' countryman Goosen, who began at eight under, was having his own problems and failed to make an impression.
 Sergio Garcia fired a bogey-free round of 65 |
But Garcia, five under after two rounds, notched eight straight pars from the 10th and birdied the last to reach 12 under to become the only player in the leading bunch not to drop a shot all day.
"Today was a thrill with the people, and all the cheers coming into the greens were amazing," said Garcia.
Furyk, meanwhile, fought back from a dip at nine under through 15 to join Cabrera on 11 under, after the Argentine had eagled the 16th in his 66.
American DiMarco was also on the charge with three straight birdies from the 11th to get to 11 under.
Woods responded to Garcia's challenge with a birdie on the 11th to get back to minus 13, but Els was struggling to hang on.
After a birdie on the 9th, he missed a six-footer on the short 13th to slip back to 10 under.
It was Woods' turn for torment at the 14th when he missed his par putt, leaving Garcia, safely in the clubhouse, in a share of the lead, which quickly became a three-way affair when DiMarco birdied the 16th.
Birdies apiece for Woods and Els at the 16th took the American clear again, but the former's over-hit approach to the next set up a bogey and pegged him back once more.
DiMarco's wayward second on the last meant he could only make a par five.
And as Woods and Els bagged their birdies on 18, the day ended as it began, with the 10-time major champion holding onto the slenderest of leads.
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Highlights: The Open third round