The PGA Championship was wide open on Saturday, birdies falling from all corners of Medinah. Tiger Woods changed the outlook quickly with three great shots, making the final major look more like an open-and-shut case.
Starting with a 3-iron over the water on the longest par 3 and ending with a 9-iron out of a sand-filled divot to 3 feet, Woods ran off three straight birdies and matched the course record with a 7-under 65, giving him a share of the lead with Luke Donald of England.
Donald, trying to end 76 years of European frustration at the PGA Championship, has never been in this position before.
Woods has.
The world's No. 1 player is 11-0 in the majors when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead, and he is 36-3 in all PGA Tour events. Woods had to work hard to get there on another day when making par meant going backward.
Woods took the lead for the first time with his third straight birdie at No. 15, ended 50 holes without a bogey on a three-putt at the next hole, then climbed back with a 7-iron to 12 feet on the scary 17th.
He and Donald were at 14-under 202, tying the 54-hole record at this major in relation to par. David Toms was at 14-under 196 through three rounds when he won the PGA in Atlanta five years ago.
Ten players were tied for the lead at one point.
It looked like it might be a one-man show until Donald hit his tee shot on the 17th into 4 feet for birdie to catch Woods.
They still have plenty of company, and some of those faces are familiar.
Mike Weir, tied with Woods going into the final round at Medinah seven years ago before shooting 80, also shot 65 despite a bogey on the final hole and was at 12-under 204.
One shot behind was US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, one of the few who was able to recover from a mistake. He took double bogey on the first hole, but scratched out a 68 to finish at 205.
Sergio Garcia, the runner-up to Woods at Medinah in 1999, hit another tremendous shot at No. 16 -- from the fairway, not the tree -- for a tap-in birdie that carried him to a 67. He and former PGA champion Shaun Micheel were at 10-under 206.
"There's still a bunch of guys. Basically, 9 to 14 [under] all have a chance to win tomorrow," Woods said.
But it all starts with Woods, going for his third straight victory and second straight major title.
"It's going to be a little different. I haven't really contended in a major before," said Donald, who lived in the Chicago area after winning a US collegiate title at Northwestern University. "This will be a little bit different pressure."
Woods will try to become the first player in the 90-year history of the PGA Championship to win twice on the same course, having captured the Wanamaker Trophy in 1999 by hanging on against Garcia.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was