Tiger Has to Earn Stripes

He has done it the easy way and the easier way, but if Tiger Woods is going to win another major title today at the PGA Championship, he’s going to have to follow a different path.

That would be the hard way and it’s unfamiliar territory for Woods, who prefers to blow everybody off the course just before he wins his majors.

Woods leads, but it’s by only one shot. Not bad, considering he was never sure how he was going to hit the ball each time he stood over a shot Saturday.

“Left, right, high, low, fat,” Woods said. “Good, positive thoughts.”

He was joking, but what appeared to be a laugher is no longer.

Woods is trying to join Ben Hogan as the only players to win three major titles in one year, but he is finding out that history is an elusive target. He lost a three-shot lead through 11 holes and wasn’t exactly swaggering as he finished his round of two-under-par 70 at Valhalla Golf Club.

Hey, Woods has a one-shot lead, but that’s not exactly an avalanche, is it? Blame Woods, because that’s what we are used to.

Playing the back nine in one over, Woods removed his foot from the necks of a number of players.

Bob May, who was born in Lynwood but lives in Las Vegas, threw his second consecutive 66 at Valhalla and is only one shot behind Woods, who stands at 13-under 203. May is tied with Scott Dunlap, the no-nonsense nonwinner from Duluth, Ga., who shot a 70.

Saturday’s third round at Valhalla was a wild ride through the unexpected, featuring a double bogey and a bogey by Woods in a four-hole stretch, and a record-tying 63 by Jose Maria Olazabal. Additionally, Davis Love III and Phil Mickelson failed to make up ground, an entire ensemble cast of second bananas stayed close and nearly everyone treated Valhalla like chopped salad.

J.P. Hayes, who had a 68, is fourth and only two shots behind Woods. Next is Australian left-hander Greg Chalmers, whose 66 moved him only three shots off Woods’ pace.

Here are some more numbers that may mean something: Woods is 16-1 on the PGA Tour when leading after three rounds . . . and his closest challengers--May, Dunlap, Hayes and Chalmers--have one victory among them.

We will see if there is a fair fight.

May missed only one fairway, as he did in his second round, and said he’s ready to play in the final pairing with Woods.

“He’s obviously the greatest player in the world right now,” said May, who bogeyed the sixth hole, then ran off four consecutive birdies. “It’s going to be a great learning experience. And who knows? Anything could happen.”

If the players weren’t too enthused about Valhalla before the first round (not mature enough, no history, boring, etc.), they seemed to fall in love with it Saturday. Maybe that’s because they wiped their spikes on the place, then slapped it silly and laughed in its face.

Is this any way to treat a major championship venue?

Soft fairways that limited roll, both up the fairways and into the rough, and soft greens that were more like catchers’ mitts made Valhalla a very receptive host for the third round.

Olazabal began the day tied for 30th, and ended it tied for sixth with his course-record 63. The two-time Masters champion was hotter than the hoods of the pickup trucks in the parking lot under the hot sun.

No one has ever shot lower in a major.

His was the 19th round of 63 shot in a major and the first since Greg Norman did it in the first round of the 1996 Masters.

Olazabal, who shot an 81 last week at the Buick Open, missed only one fairway and hoped his erratic driver was becoming more obedient. He wasn’t sure when he had last hit his driver so straight.

“Don’t ask me such tough questions,” he said.

Next year, Olazabal will play more on the PGA Tour than the European Tour, and he hopes his confidence and his driving remain intact. Both have been shaky lately.

“I mean, when you start hitting the ball all over the park, you are going to struggle,” he said. “Confidence is not going to be high at all.”

Meanwhile, Woods was three under through nine and then birdied the 10th, but he was having trouble with his swing. It showed soon enough.

With a three-shot lead at 15 under and the rest of the field in his rear-view mirror, he hit his second shot on the par-four 12th short of the green. He chipped to about 12 feet and sent his par putt three feet past the hole.

But Woods missed his next putt and had to sink the two-foot comebacker for a double bogey. When Dunlap made his five-foot putt for birdie, it was a three-shot swing and he caught Woods at 13 under.

Woods edged his way ahead at the par-three 14th in a flash. His five-iron found the front bunker, but he blasted out to about a foot and tapped in for par. Dunlap wasn’t as fortunate. He was in the same bunker but had a bad lie and couldn’t get any closer than 20 feet with his sand wedge. Dunlap missed the putt for a bogey and dropped a shot behind.

Then Woods gave it right back at the 15th when his second shot flew the green and landed in the high rough. Woods chipped out to about eight feet, but missed his putt coming back.

Now he was in a three-way tie for the lead with Dunlap and May, who had a chance to take the lead at No. 17 but left his birdie putt slightly short.

Woods went ahead at the 18th when he hit a second-shot three wood to the left side of the green and two-putted for birdie from about 40 feet.

After that, Woods gave a status report.

“A one-shot lead is great,” he said.

“To have a challenge like I have, I’m going to have a good time. I have plenty of holes tomorrow . . . no reason to get discouraged.”

No, that’s the path everyone chasing Woods follows.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

PGA Championship

Today’s Final Round

7:30 a.m., TNT

10:30 a.m., Ch. 2

LEADERS

Tiger Woods: 66-67-70--203 -13

Scott Dunlap: 66-68-70--204 -12

Bob May: 72-66-66--204 -12

J.P. Hayes: 69-68-68--205 -11

Greg Chalmers: 71-69-66--206 -10

3 tied at 207

WOODS IN TOURNAMENT

Holes: 54

Eagles: 0

Birdies: 18

Pars: 32

Bogeys: 3

Double bogeys: 1

WOODS IN MAJORS/2000

Holes: 270

Eagles: 0

Birdies: 63

Pars: 185

Bogeys: 19

Double bogeys/other: 3

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Low and Behold

Players who have scored 63s in a major championship with round, year and course:

MASTERS

Nick Price, third, 1986, Augusta

Greg Norman, first, 1996, Augusta

U.S. OPEN

Johnny Miller, fourth, 1973, Oakmont

Jack Nicklaus, first, 1980, Baltusrol

Tom Weiskopf, first, 1980, Baltusrol

BRITISH OPEN

Mark Hayes, second, 1977, Turnberry

Isao Aoki, third, 1980, Muirfield

Greg Norman, second, 1986, Turnberry

Paul Broadhurst, third, 1990, St. Andrews

Jodie Mudd, fourth, 1991, Royal Birkdale

Nick Faldo, second, 1993, Royal St. George

Payne Stewart, fourth, 1993, Royal St. George

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Bruce Crampton, second, 1975, Firestone

Ray Floyd, first, 1982, Southern Hills

Gary Player, second, 1984, Shoal Creek

Vijay Singh, second, 1993, Inverness

Michael Bradley, first, 1995, Riviera

Brad Faxon, fourth, 1995, Riviera

Jose Maria Olazabal, third, 2000, Valhalla