 |
 |
 |
|
DORAL, Fla. -- For Tiger Woods to extend his head-turning, headline-making winning streak, he'll have to equal one of his most miraculous, memorable PGA Tour bests.
|
|
| Geoff Ogilvy tips his cap after saving par on 17 en route to at third-round 68. (AP) |
Woods' biggest final-round comeback was from that identical deficit at Pebble Beach in 2000, when he eventually trailed by seven shots with as many holes to play and beat Matt Gogel. Woods entered play this week at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa seeking to win his fourth consecutive PGA Tour title this season, which would establish a new record for victories to begin a year.
But a mediocre even-par 72 in the third round dropped him into a tie for seventh. Ogilvy doesn't have a bogey over his first 54 holes and stands at 16 under, four strokes ahead of five players, including Adam Scott, Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen.
With all those prominent players standing between Woods and Ogilvy, the final round Sunday afternoon will have an air of urgency, to be sure.
Woods signed his scorecard and eyed the scoreboard, taking note that two players shot 64 and two more shot 63 in the third round. Hard to say whether that made him feel better or worse, given the ground he'd lost with some of his flattest play in months.
"It can be had," he said of the wet course. "I have a lot of work ahead of me and I need to get off to a quick start."
If the streak ends here -- it stands at six official worldwide starts in succession, including five in a row on the U.S. tour -- Woods won't have to look far for a reason. For only the second time in his 23 rounds at Doral that he failed to birdie any of the par-5 holes. And he also lipped out four putts, which also made an impression.
It underscored how painfully slim the margin can be between contending and falling back -- the four putts probably missed by a combined total of an inch or two.
"I had four harsh lip-outs," Woods said after the round. "That's the difference. If those go in, I'm only one back."
When final-round play begins, Woods will play in the third-to-last group. He erased a four-shot margin after 54 holes earlier this season at the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic, edging past Ernie Els, among others, for the victory.
Ogilvy, who played with Woods in the third round, knocked in birdie putts of 33 and 40 feet after the Sunday morning restart and also made a 15-foot par-saver to keep the bogey-free streak alive. Technically, it dates back to the 10th hole last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a run of 62 holes.
"I don't know how to explain that," said Ogilvy, who has three tour victories, including U.S. Open and World Golf Championships titles. "Putting well helps."
He'll need to keep it up. With only the slightest breeze blowing Sunday, scores will probably continue to drop, although a nasty weather front in the forecast could ruin things.
Ogilvy has had the 54-hole lead once in his career, at the nearby Honda Classic in 2005, where he shot 73 on Sunday and finished tied for sixth.
"I know I can't go out and be defensive," Ogilvy said.
