Woods Not Weakened on Weekends

Another Saturday attack has Tiger in the hunt.

Last week, Tiger Woods’ 62-65 finish at the Buick Invitational in La Jolla vaulted him to his first PGA Tour victory since May and reopened the debate as to who is the world’s No. 1 golfer: Woods or David Duval.

On Saturday, Woods’ six-under-par 65 in the third round of the Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club positioned him for a repeat, leaving him in a three-way tie for second place, two strokes behind Ted Tryba.

What’s more, Woods said his career-best round at the Pacific Palisades layout, where he first played in this tournament as a 16-year-old amateur in 1992, could have been a lot better if not for some faulty putting.

“I hit the ball probably the best I’ve hit it all week,” he said, “but I left some shots out there. I missed four golden opportunities for birdies--from 15 feet and in--that I should have made.”

Better hold off on that coronation of Duval as golf’s new king.

Last week, with Duval off snowboarding, Woods erased a nine-stroke deficit in the third round, opening a one-stroke lead by shooting a course-record 62 on the South Course at Torrey Pines en route to his eighth PGA Tour victory.

Saturday’s six-birdie, no-bogey round wasn’t nearly as eye-opening, especially in light of Tryba’s course-record 61, but it pushed him two strokes ahead of Duval and after last week’s winning run it begged the question: Does Tiger lie in wait to make a weekend charge?

“That’s what it looks like,” he said, laughing, “but I’m not trying to do that. I’m out there playing just as hard on Thursday and Friday as I am on the weekend, but for some reason sometimes I just don’t get it going. Like [Friday], I made 14 straight pars. I missed a lot of birdie putts.”

If not always spectacular, Woods has been steady. His only bogey of the tournament came on his 15th hole of the first round, the par-three sixth. Since then, he has gone 39 holes without a bogey.

Today, Woods said, he’ll continue to attack as he plays in a threesome with Tryba and Davis Love III, who is tied with Woods and Ernie Els.

“Sunday is different because it’s your last round,” Woods said. “Sunday is basically it. And if you’re in the hunt and have a chance to win, you can be a little more aggressive and go for it and see if you can get yourself some momentum, make some birdies and take the lead.”

One thing in Woods’ favor: He’ll have the crowd on his side.

“They’ve been great, extremely supportive,” he said of the throngs that have followed him around the course. “I had a lot of friends out there watching today, but generally the crowds in L.A. have always been the biggest supporters of Tiger Woods. It’s kind of like my hometown crowd.”

Woods, who lost in a playoff to Billy Mayfair in last year’s Nissan Open at Valencia Country Club, is hoping for a different result this time as he tries to win for the second week in a row.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out there and feel the adrenaline and the butterflies--and see what I can do.”