The showdown turned into a circus act late Saturday afternoon at Doral until Tiger Woods came through with a risky shot into the 18th green and restored order to a jumbled leaderboard.
Woods recovered from a double bogey to surge into the lead, then carved a shot through the trees on the final hole and escaped with a 4-under 68 that left him two shots clear of Daniel Chopra and Rich Beem heading into the final round of the Ford Championship at Doral.
A half-dozen players had a share of the lead at some point on the balmy Blue Monster until Woods emerged from the pack with three straight birdies on the back nine and finished at 17-under 199.
"I'm in good shape, I guess," Woods said.
But he had plenty of help.
Camilo Villegas, the 24-year-old rookie from Colombia, stayed with him step-for-step, birdie-for-birdie until hitting behind a banyan tree at No. 18 and having to play his next shot down the first fairway. It took 20 minutes to clear the gallery out of his way, and he hit over the palms to 30 feet, only to three-putt for double bogey.
"I was working hard on that one, but I had no shot when I got to my ball," he said. "I started focusing on hitting a good third shot, which I did. And unfortunately, I just missed a short one there to go home."
Phil Mickelson, playing in the final group with Woods that brought out a record crowd of 37,000, slowly lost ground on the back nine before hitting off barren grass into the water on the 18th. He made a 15-footer to save bogey, but still wound up four shots behind.
The fans sure got their money's worth, one man in particular.
pretty cheap
He was hit by Mickelson's errant 3-wood on the 10th hole, and it broke his watch. Mickelson went to check on him, and pulled two US$100 bills from his bag to pay for the watch.
"It wasn't a Rolex," Mickelson said.
What Lefty wouldn't have paid for a little better putting.
When the zaniness subsided as the orange glow of the sun dipped behind the clouds, Woods was atop the leaderboard and poised to win for the second straight year at the Blue Monster.
Woods is 33-3 on the PGA Tour when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead, and he played solidly again except for dunking an 8-iron into the water on the par-3 ninth for a double bogey.
Instead of Mickelson at his side Sunday, Woods will be paired with Chopra, who birdied two of his last three holes for a 68 and was at 15-under 201. Also two shots behind was former PGA champion Rich Beem, who was terrified of the Blue Monster's closing hole until he birdied it for a 69.
David Toms wasn't so fortunate. He was in rough so deep that he laid up short of the water, then failed to convert par from 92 yards and had to settle for a 70, leaving him at 14-under 202 along with Villegas.
The Colombian rookie was a star in this Miami market loaded with Latinos, and he kept them on their toes until his untimely collapse on the 18th. Villegas wound up with a 71, but is still in the hunt for his first victory in only his 18th start on the PGA Tour.
But it will take some work to catch Woods, who is dominant with the lead.
"If you're leading, you're playing pretty good," Woods said about his record going into the final round.
He wasn't at his best Saturday, but it was good enough. He and Mickelson sparred through the first 13 holes until Woods began to pull away. They drew most of the gallery, and the atmosphere was electric as ever.
But it was only the third round, which is how both of them saw it.
"The great thing about today is it was not the last day," Mickelson said. "I know that obviously he's playing well, but because it was not the final round, I wasn't really concerned. I should be now -- I'm four back."
Woods wasted one chance earlier to take charge of the tournament.
He birdied the first two holes and twice made big par saves on the first five holes. After his approach ballooned into the wind and trickled just short of the rocks guarding the pond on No. 3, he pitched to 5 feet and made the putt. And after a gust knocked his ball into the bunker at No. 5, he blasted out to 10 feet and made another big putt.
It appeared as though he might pull away with a 340-yard drive on the par-5 eighth, followed by a 5-iron into 30 feet for a two-putt birdie that put him two shots ahead of Mickelson. But he dumped his 8-iron into the water on the par-3 ninth and made double bogey, bringing everyone back into the mix.
That changed with a 6-iron into 3 feet on the 13th -- the only birdie of the round on that par 3 -- a wedge from 153 yards into 10 feet on the 14th, and an 8-iron from 172 yards into 8 feet for his third straight birdie.
Equally important was his par on the final hole, one extra shot between Woods and those trying to catch him.
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