Woods Still Leads, but 74 Lets Others Back in the Chase

Tiger Woods was everywhere he didn’t want to be Saturday in the Bay Hill Invitational, making four bogeys in a round of 74 that brought just about everybody back into the tournament at Orlando, Fla.

On a steamy, sun-baked afternoon that felt like the middle of summer, Woods squandered his four-stroke advantage by the time he made the turn, then hung on down the stretch for a one-stroke lead over Len Mattiace.

It figured to be a runaway. It turned into a free-for-all.

As far as Woods was concerned, “It could have been a lot worse.”

Woods, trying to win for the third consecutive time at Bay Hill, was at 10-under-par 206. His PGA Tour record with at least a share of the 54-hole lead is 21-2.

The challenge could come from anyone--14 players were within three shots of the lead, while 20 players were within five strokes.

It starts with Mattiace, the Nissan Open winner and the only player without a bogey on a rock-hard, cotton-mouth day at Bay Hill. He holed a 40-foot putt for par on No. 17 and finished with a 68.

Scott McCarron, who started the day four back, caught Woods at the turn and stayed with him until he bogeyed two of the last three holes. He had a 72 and was at 208, along with volatile Pat Perez (69), John Huston (70) and two Campbells--Michael and Chad, who shot 68s.

Right behind at 209 is some real star power.

John Daly, tied for the lead after a birdie on No. 13, kept the damage to a minimum and finished with a 71. Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh each had a 69, Sergio Garcia a 70 and Ernie Els finished strong for a 72, which included a par save after going into the water on No. 16 and a birdie on the 18th.

Woods played the final seven holes with one birdie and the rest pars, but the rest of the afternoon was a real adventure. That image of Woods posing over well-struck shots turned into one of him holding his arm out to the left to warn the gallery of an incoming ball.

He three-putted from 30 feet on No. 7. He hit under the trees left of the ninth fairway, and his punch shot under the limbs just caught the thick rough, slowing its roll to the green. Another bogey. He went left again on No. 10 and failed to get up and down from a bunker for his fourth bogey of the round, and suddenly he was tied for the lead.

“I hit a lot of poor shots,” Woods said. “But I hung in there and scraped out a round that could have been pretty ugly.”

As Woods’ lead kept shrinking, more players joined the hunt.

“There’s 15 other guys with a chance to win,” Mattiace said. “Anyone on this leaderboard can shoot a good round. It’s who’s going to have the best day tomorrow.”

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Annika Sorenstam zeroed in on her third win in as many tournaments, shooting a four-under 68 to take a four-stroke lead into the final round of the Ping Banner Health.

Sorenstam has led or shared the lead in Phoenix six consecutive rounds, starting with the second round last year in which she shot the first 59 in women’s tournament history.

She didn’t get sole possession of the lead this year until her masterful play on a third blustery day pushed her 54-hole total to 11-under 205. She was 23 under at the same point in 2001.

Cristie Kerr (70) and Australia’s Rachel Teske (71) were tied for second at 210. Kerr had two eagles in the round.

In 34 previous tournaments in which Sorenstam held the third-round lead, the Swedish star has gone on to win 20.

“I feel comfortable in this position,” said Sorenstam, who has won four of her last five tournaments and two in a row this year--the Australian Ladies Masters and LPGA Tour’s season-opening Takefuji Classic.

“You know, I’ve been in it many times, and I love being the leader. So I think I’m just getting more used to it and more comfortable.”

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Jay Sigel shot a one-over 73 in cold and windy conditions to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley.

Sigel, the two-time U.S. Amateur champion who won the last of his six Senior PGA Tour titles in 1998, had a 3-under 141 total on the Coyote Creek course at San Jose. He returned to the tour last June after a seven-month layoff following operations on both shoulders.

George Archer shot a 74 to join Ed Dougherty (72), Bob Gilder (75) and Dana Quigley (75) at 142.

With the wind gusting to 35 mph and temperatures in the low 50s, no players broke par, the first time that has happened on the senior tour since 1997.