The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Woods’s hat-trick dream all but over

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Woods’s hat-trick dream all but over

— Photo: AP

LOSING HIS COOL: Tiger Woods gives vent to his feelings.

CARNOUSTIE: Tiger Woods’s hopes of a hat-trick of Open wins lay in tatters on Saturday when a two-under 69 failed to give him the momentum he needed to haul in the leaders.

The world No.1 finished the third round at one under for the tournament, but with leader Sergio Garcia powering ahead at nine over and a clutch of other top players in front of him, Woods was left needing a miracle on Sunday.

Sergio Garcia started the third round by making a 15-foot birdie putt for a three-stroke lead, the sort of chance that bedevilled him in the past.

Garcia shot a 2-under 34 on the front side and birdied 11 to get to 9 under. By then his leading challenger was Steve Stricker, whose 64 is the best Open score played at Carnoustie and put him at 6 under 207 for three rounds.

Not giving up

Tiger Woods isn’t giving up, even though the two-time defending Open champion failed to make a major charge with a 2-under-par 69. He walked off with Garcia still on the course, the Spaniard having reclaimed a seven-shot edge over the world’s No. 1 player with another birdie at the eighth.

“I’ve got to play a little better than I have been, that’s for sure,” Woods said, very aware this was a day for going lower. “But at least I give myself a chance going out there tomorrow.”

He remembered what happened when the Open last came to Carnoustie in 1999. Paul Lawrie rallied from a double-digit deficit the final day to win in a playoff. Of course, that never would have happened without Jean Van De Velde making an inexplicable mess of the 72nd hole.

Fan hit

Woods struck a female fan in the head with a shot at the par-5 sixth, leaving her bloodied and bandaged. “I had a pit in my stomach,” he said. “There was blood all over the place. I don’t know how she was smiling.” — Agencies

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