Furyk Leads U.S. Open over Woods

During practice on the green, there was not a hint of stature for the ‘Emperor of Golf’ Tiger Woods.

In the third round of the 2003 U.S. Open held yesterday at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois, USA, Woods had a hard time warming up on the putting greens. Practice lasted for about one hour before play. Everything looked out of sync. His shots did not fly long, and were not very accurate. Woods was seen shaking his head in disgust, obviously disappointed with his performance.

The worry continued, as expected. Woods left with his career worst record: 5-over 75 in a single round of the U.S. Open, with his ranking sliding down to 24th place.

His lack of confidence was detected in the par-5 opening hole. Instead of a driver, possibly due to tough roughs, he opted for a wood No. 3 for his tee shot. He had to settle for par. He should have gone for aggressive "birdie play" to move into the leading group.

Furyk surged ahead Saturday at Olympia Fields with a 3-under 67 to shatter the 54-hole scoring record at the U.S. Open. Vijay Singh, tied with Furyk most of the sunny, warm day south of Chicago, missed a 3-foot par putt on the 16th hole which sent him into visible agony. He bogeyed the next two holes for a 72 and fell back five strokes.

Furyk will take a three-stroke lead over Stephen Leaney in the final round, thanks to a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that capped off a remarkable day. Furyk finished at 10-under 200, breaking the previous 54-hole record of 203 last matched by Lee Janzen in 1993 at Baltusrol.

Furyk has been showing excellent performance so far. In every round for the past three days, Furyk scored 60 strokes. Furyk has played in 14 championships this season, and has found himself in the top five seven times. A highlight during play came with two dramatic par-saves and two birdie putts.

Leaney was one off the lead at the turn until catching two bad lies in the rough on No. 10 to make a double bogey while dropping another shot on No. 11. The Aussie showed plenty of resolve and finished strong for a 68 putting him in the final group Sunday.

Furyk and Leaney will vie against each other in the championship today in the final round. K. J. Choi ranked at the top bottom and was disqualified.

Young-Sik Ahn ysahn@donga.com