Leading Question

Tiger Woods started Saturday’s third round of the 102nd U.S. Open with a three-shot lead and pushed the lead to four by day’s end.

So how come it felt as though Woods had given others hope as he gave away shots?

Here’s why:

On a day when Woods might have closed escrow on his eighth major deal, a day when 44-year-old Nick Faldo shot a four-under-par 66 and a day when Bethpage Black turned from foreboding to forgiving, Woods only slightly improved what had seemed a choke-hold and needed two fist-pumping birdies late in his round to keep the wheels on his bus.

That’s not to say he didn’t answer the call when he needed to.

As a gaggle of golfers put red scores on the leaderboard, shrinking a legendary leader’s lead to two shots at one point, Woods responded with his only birdies of the day at Nos. 15 and 17 to put some space between himself and the field.

After shooting par 70, Woods starts play today at five under with a 54-hole total of 205, four shots ahead of Sergio Garcia, who shot 67 and stands at 209.

Phil Mickelson, who crept to within two shots of Woods at one point after trailing by 10 on the front nine, finished with a 67. He and Jeff Maggert, who also shot 67, are five shots behind Woods at 210.

Three players, Robert Allenby, Billy Mayfair and Padraig Harrington, stand six shots back at 211.

By contrast, Woods began the third round with a three-shot lead over Harrington and seven shots over four other players.

Amazing what can happen when it stops raining.

Mickelson trailed Woods by eight shots after 36 holes; now he’s down by only five.

A word of caution to those who think they made up some ground on Woods, if only psychologically. He has seven times taken the lead into the final round of a major championship and won all seven.

“I know that you have to hang around,” he said. “Even though I was two over for most of the day, I still had the lead. They had to come and get me.”

The chase continues.

After Woods finally sank a birdie putt on the par-four 15th, he slammed his putter into his golf bag.

Woods’ emotions?

“Finally,” he related later. “It took me 15 holes to make a birdie. When I threw the putter down in the bag, I was kind of celebrating there.”

Today’s final round won’t be without drama. Garcia made up three shots on Woods with his 67 and ended the day in second place, meaning he will be paired with Woods for the final 18 holes.

Garcia and Woods are not what you would call fast friends, and Garcia did not endear himself further by making New York tabloid headlines with his suggestions that Woods is a lucky golfer and that the USGA would have stopped play Friday had Woods been forced to play in the monsoon conditions.

Garcia said he regretted the comments and tried to make amends.

“I left a note this morning on his locker, just telling him that I didn’t mean anything bad about him,” Garcia said of Woods.

Woods said he had not yet received Garcia’s note but does not anticipate playing with the Spaniard will be a problem.

“It’s awfully nice for him to do that, first of all, for him to leave a note like that,” Woods said. “That shows me a lot. Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun. I’m excited about going out there and playing with him.”

Was Woods upset at Garcia’s comments?

“I wasn’t angry at all,” he said. “Because I knew that Sergio is a very emotional player and he was obviously frustrated at the way he played. And on top of that, the conditions weren’t exactly easy either.”

Don’t expect much conversation between the players on the course today, although both anticipate a raucous reception from the loudest galleries anyone can remember at a golf major.

Garcia took the brunt of catcalls Friday, at one point making an obscene gesture at a fan who had screamed at him.

On Saturday, it was Woods who backed off of a shot on the 16th fairway and shouted “Come on!” to one heckler.

“There’s nothing wrong with fans showing enthusiasm, just as long as they’re respectful,” Woods said. “And sometimes the fans have crossed the line, and that’s unfortunate.”

Of course, today’s final round isn’t only the Sergio vs. Tiger Show.

After starting with three bogeys on his first five holes, Mickelson went on a strong run, making three consecutive birdies on the front nine to go out in 34 and then shooting 33 on the back.

Unlike Woods and Garcia, Mickelson seemed to pick up energy from the crowd as he mounted his charge.

When Mickelson drained a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-three 17th to go one under and pull within two shots of Woods, the crowd had clearly thrown its support for the underdog.

“When that one went in, there seemed to be a lot of people around the 17th green,” said Mickelson, who turns 32 today. “It was a really cool feeling.”

When Mickelson, still searching for his first major title, rolled in his putt on 17, Woods was still two over for the day, muddling along three holes behind at the par-three 14th.

Woods would make par there to remain at three under at about the same time Garcia had moved to one under with a birdie putt on No. 16.

Woods sensed the momentum swing and knew players were gaining on him.

Like a good fighter, he answered a punch with a counterpunch. He made birdie on the par-four 15th, the most difficult hole at Bethpage this week.

“Even though the other players made a run and played some great rounds of golf out there in the U.S. Open, I look at the leaderboard and actually increased my lead,” he said.

Mickelson let a shot get away when he closed with bogey at No. 18, the result of hitting his tee shot, a two-iron, into the rough.

At the end of three rounds, no one has tamed Tiger yet.

“I thoroughly enjoy it,” he said. “I love to compete. And being in the final group in the final round of a major championship that’s where you want to be, that’s the thrill of it.”

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*--* Tiger Would What’s at stake for Tiger Woods today: * He is trying to become the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1972 to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam, the Masters and U.S. Open * He is trying to make it seven victories in the last 11 major championships * His reputation as a closer: He is 4-0 in majors when leading after two rounds, 7-0 when leading majors after three rounds and 23-2 overall * His eighth major title would tie Tom Watson and leave him behind only Nicklaus (18), Walter Hagen (11) and Ben Hogan and Gary Player (9) * He is 26 years old

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