SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tiger Woods is back on the course with a share of the U.S. Open lead.
Woods sent his opening drive Saturday into the left rough. He began the third round tied at 1 under with playing partner Jim Furyk and David Toms, who was playing in the group ahead.
All three — the only players to start the day under par — bogeyed the 509-yard, par-4 first.
First-round leader Michael holed out from the intermediate rough for a birdie on No. 1, raising his arms after the ball trickled along the fast green and dropped. The good mood didn't last — he bogeyed the second landed in a green-side bunker on his approach.
A blue sky and a slight breeze along the California coast created clean conditions and provided another majestic backdrop of San Francisco's steep hills. Woods also stuck out in the serene setting with a bright green shirt, beige pants and a white hat and shoes.
The outfit might have been a nod to Oregon coach and qualifier Casey Martin, his former Stanford teammate who missed the cut. Martin was on the driving range with Woods — who scarfed down a sandwich between practice shots — before he teed off.
There were plenty other more notable names who didn't stick around for the weekend.
Defending U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, Masters winner Bubba Watson and top-ranked Luke Donald all missed the cut. So did last week's winner at Memphis, Dustin Johnson, and 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.
The fast and fickle fairways at The Olympic Club were again wreaking havoc on amateurs and seasons pros alike. Joe Ogilvie had four bogeys and a double bogey through the treacherous first six holes Saturday, dropping to 14 over — six shots over the cut line the day before. He finished at 6 over 76 for the day.
The third round could be telling for Woods' chances to end his four-year major drought.
In his 14 major wins, his scoring average in the third round is 68.3 and he has never had a round over par. He has had the lowest score of the third round five times (despite being among the last to tee off in the afternoon), and he has not had a round over par.
This was the first time Woods has shared the lead at a major going into the third round.
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