PGA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP : Chris Couch Finds Tiger on His Tail

Tiger Woods of Cypress shot a three-under-par 69 Thursday to pull within one stroke of the lead after the third round of the PGA Junior Championship at the PGA National Golf Club.

Woods, 14, the youngest player in the tournament, trails Chris Couch of North Lauderdale, Fla., heading into today’s final round. Last March, Couch, 17, qualified for the Honda Classic, becoming the youngest player to compete in a PGA Tour event.

Thursday, Couch shot a 70 for a 54-hole total of 215. He has led all three days of the tournament, but has seen Woods, the precocious challenger with the prodigious swing, edge ever closer. Couch and Woods were paired in the final foursome Thursday and Couch was impressed by some of Woods’ shots.

“Tiger’s the best 14-year-old I’ve ever seen,” Couch said. “I’m going to have to play really well to beat him.”

Couch started the day two shots ahead of Woods, but Woods pulled into a tie heading into the fourth hole by parring the first three while Couch had two bogeys and a par.

Couch regained the lead for good on the par-four No. 4 when he made birdie and Woods had a double-bogey. Woods buried his approach shot in a bunker in front of the green, blasted out, then three-putted.

Woods’ round of 35-34 included seven birdies and two bogeys in addition to the double-bogey.

“Except for that one hole I three-putted, my putting was great,” Woods said. “If I play as well (today) as I did (Thursday), I’ll win.”

Despite his cocky attitude, Woods said he isn’t an aggressive player.

“The key for me is to continue to play steady,” he said. “All I want to do is hit as many fairways and greens as I can in regulation and try not to putt more than twice on any one hole.”

Woods, who shot 73-74 the first two rounds, credited time on the driving range and a dry shirt for his three-under-par round Thursday.

Woods was spraying the ball all over the fairway Wednesday and was so disgusted with his play that he headed straight for the driving range, where he remained until dark. There, Woods tinkered with his grip and on Thursday he was back to driving the ball straight and long.

The other thing Woods noticed during Wednesday’s heat and humidity was how his sweat-soaked shirt was sticking to him and affecting his backswing. So he took an extra shirt with him Thursday and changed after nine holes.

“I’ve got everything straightened out now and I’m ready to go after the title,” Woods said. “I don’t feel any pressure because nobody around here ever heard of me. The pressure will be on (Couch) because he’s the local favorite.”

Woods, who took his first swing at a golf ball in his parent’s garage when he was 11 months old, has been winning golf tournaments since age 5, when he won the first of his record five Junior World Championships.

Two weeks ago, Woods shot 63 in the La Mirada city junior championship the day before leaving for Fort Worth, Tex., where he won the Big ‘I’ Insurance Junior Classic by three strokes. In a driving contest before that tournament, he drove a ball 310 yards. This from a youngster who is 5-foot-9 and 120 pounds.

“Not bad for a kid, I guess,” Woods said. “Once I get on the tour, I expect to average 300 and hit it like Greg Norman.”

An honors student, Woods’ ambition is to play professional golf. He doesn’t want to be the next great black golfer. He wants to be the next dominant player, period.

“I want to tear it up on the tour,” he said.