By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

CHASKA, Minn. — The lead still is his, if reduced, and presumably the tournament still is his. A name nobody expected and one everybody did expect are challenging Tiger Woods, but there is a big difference in being challenged and being beaten.

Woods played conservatively Saturday in the third round of the 91st PGA Championship, which made sense when he began the day with a four-shot lead. By the end of the day, the lead was two.

“Only mistake I made,” Woods said, “was three-putting there at 4. But other than that, the card was pretty clean. I didn’t give myself a lot of looks at putts. I was lag putting a lot. Given the conditions and my position in the tournament, I didn’t mind.”

Woods, with a 71, is still in first at 8-under-par 208 for 54 holes at Hazeltine National. The spread is two strokes over Y.E. Yang, a Korean who despite a win on the PGA Tour is little recognized, and over defending champion Padraig Harrington, who was supposed to battle Woods. They are tied at 210 after Yang’s 5-under 67 and Harrington’s 69.

“I think everybody wants to see a battle in the hope the underdog catches up,” Harrington said. “But when he catches up, they want the hero to win, as usual.”

The hero, of course, being Mr. Woods, who is a perfect 14-for-14 when leading a major after three rounds and 47-for-50 when leading any tournament after three.

“I had tremendous support,” Harrington said. “I get the impression people want me to push him along but want him to win.”

Behind the top three at 4-under 212 are Henrik Stenson and the man who won the U.S. Open at Bethpage, Lucas Glover, meaning three of the top five are major champions, and Stenson has won The Players and Yang beat the whole lot at the 2007 HSBC in Shanghai.

Woods, trying for his fifth PGA title that would equal Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen (and 15th major overall), said it does make a difference who is on the leader board.

“You get guys who understand how to win major championships,” Woods said, “and guys that know how to deal with the situation. They believe in themselves, and they know how to get it done.”

Because Harrington bogeyed the 18th hole, Woods will play with Yang Sunday in the final pairing. Had Harrington parred 18, he would have been second alone and matched with Woods for a fourth time in five rounds.

“I think I would rather,” Harrington said of playing with Woods. “I think it would suit me better to have that sort of match-play style. I think I [would] get into it and hopefully raise my game. But I don’t think I have a choice.”

Through an interpreter, the 27-year-old Yang said, “It’s a privilege to be listed on the top with those great names, great players what I admire and respect.”

Sounds like a setup from a guy who Saturday made six birdies and only one bogey. Or four more birdies than Woods.

But the second of Woods’ birdies was on the 318-yard 14th when he drove over the green, chipped long and then using a wedge as a putter, knocked the ball into the cup. That regained the lead from Harrington, who briefly had tied him.

“It’s a rush,” Woods said of the competition. “It’s fun to go out and test what you have.”

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Copyright © 2009 Newsday. All rights reserved.

By Art Spander
Special to Newsday

CHASKA, Minn. — The wind came up, dry and hot, rattling flagsticks in the cups, sending golf balls flying off their desired lines. But in this 91st PGA Championship out on the prairie land west of Minneapolis, they were hardly the winds of change.

The tournament still was in the possession of Tiger Woods, more than ever. What started as a one-shot lead with others still holding the thought they had a chance, ended up as a four-shot lead, and is there anyone extant who doesn’t believe anyone but Tiger has a chance in this tournament?

Of the top dozen or so players on the leader board at the start of round two Friday, Woods was the only one to break par, shooting a 2-under-par 70 at Hazeltine National. His 36-hole total was 7-under 137, with Vijay Singh, U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, Ross Fisher and defending champion Padraig Harrington all at 3-under 141.

“His game looked solid again today,” Harrington said of Woods, one of his playing partners. “I think he’s in good position because of the fact he’s a good front-runner. He can pick and choose his shots, and he’s not rushed into shots he doesn’t have to hit. He’s very good at that.”

He’s more than very good. He’s fantastic. When Tiger has the halfway lead, he has been unbeatable in majors, winning 8 of 8, and virtually unbeatable in tournaments overall, winning 32 of 38.

A victory in this would be Tiger’s 15th major championship, his fifth PGA, although he refuses to think beyond Saturday’s third round.

“I’ve got a long way to go,” said Woods, who didn’t finish first in any of the year’s three previous majors. “But I’m pleased. The wind was up. It was pretty blustery. It was changing directions. It was affecting putts. All in all, it was a very difficult day, and you had to stay patient.”

While Tiger did just that, others stayed close. And then, wham. Harrington shot 38 on the back nine, with four bogeys, including one at 18. Fisher, briefly tied with Woods after 16, bogeyed the final two holes. Woods took control with birdies on 14, 15 and 16, so even a bogey at 18 didn’t hurt very much.

“Today,” Woods said of conditions, “was a day when if you looked at it — I don’t know how to explain it — could have been worse than it is. Could have been better. I could have shot a couple over par, but I turned it into an under-par round.”

Harrington had a sense of humor. He hit a magnificent 3-wood shot from a bunker 301 yards onto the green of the 642-yard 15th for a birdie 4 but lost too many strokes en route.

Woods called it one of the best shots he had ever seen, “worth the price of admission.”

“He did say to me actually he would have paid to have seen it,” Harrington said. “So I asked him for 50 bucks.”

Phil Mickelson shot a second 74 but made the cut on the number at 148, as did Fred Couples. Among those missing the cut was Sergio Garcia, still without his first major, who shot a choppy 78. Ernie Els made a strong move with a 68, tied for best round of the day with Fisher and Tim Clark

“I mean, yes, Tiger is the greatest golfer I think we’ve ever seen,” said Fisher, who contended in the U.S. and British Opens. “But at the end of the day, he’s just like me and you. He’s just a human being. He just happens to be damn good at golf. So we’ve got to work really, really hard to try and compete with him and catch him.”

But Woods has not lost a 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in five years.

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/golf/woods-controls-shots-takes-control-of-the-pga-1.1371314
Copyright © 2009 Newsday. All rights reserved.