Taylor makes big move to the top

Vaughn Taylor was losing ground and trying not to lose his temper when he saw a leaderboard on the sixth tee that showed him seven shots behind Saturday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Imagine his surprise when he walked off the 18th with a hard-earned par and a two-shot lead.

On a wild day of shifting weather and changing fortunes, Taylor shot a three-under-par 67 to seize control at eight-under 202.

Ben Curtis, the former British Open champion, had 69 and will play with Taylor in the final group today. Another shot back were Vijay Singh (67) and Tom Lehman (69), the former Ryder Cup captain who benched Taylor the first day of matches and now has to try to chase him down.

Fifteen players were within five shots of the lead, a group that includes Tiger Woods.

As badly as he played Friday, Woods figured he had no business being in contention. As well as he hit the ball Saturday, he figured there was no way he shouldn’t have been around the lead. He had to settle for a 70, leaving him five shots back and facing odds of having never won at Arnie’s place when he wasn’t in the lead after the third round.

Second-round leader Rocco Mediate staggered to a 76 and is tied with Woods at three under.

Taylor will have to overcome two glaring statistics. He ranks 166th on the PGA Tour in final-round scoring average, and his only two victories came at the Reno-Tahoe Open, when the top players were at Firestone for a World Golf Championship.

“I’ve just got to play like I’ve been playing the last few days, and hope things go my way,” Taylor said.

Boo Weekley shot a 67 that became a 69 when he took a rare two-shot penalty for pulling the pin without asking on playing partner Tom Johnson’s chip shot on the second hole.