Woods takes three-shot lead at Tour Championship

AFP, Atlanta :

Tiger Woods is one round away from ending his five-year victory drought after storming into a three-shot lead on day three of the Tour Championship here Saturday.
Woods, 42 looked in a class of his own as he carded a five-under-par 65 to leave himself on 12 under for the tournament at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club.
After an opening birdie on the par-four first, Woods went surging clear of the field with a run of five straight birdies from the third hole.
The run came with a mix of superb iron play and rock-solid putting, including a 21-foot birdie putt on the fourth.
There was also a moment of magic from the former world number one on the seventh, when he drilled a 172-yard approach shot to five feet and then tapped in for birdie.
He was denied a bigger lead after bogeys on the ninth and 16th holes.
“I got off to a nice start and made some nice putts. Good Lord,” Woods said afterwards.
“I left myself in good spots, too, so I was able to take a run at some of the putts. Other than number three, every putt was uphill, so it was nice. I felt like I could free-wheel it, and they went in.”
A Woods victory would be an 80th PGA Tour triumph and take him to within two wins of Sam Snead’s all-time 82 Tour victories.
“I would love to be able to win this event,” he said.
“I’ve got a three-shot lead. I’ve got a bunch of guys behind me that have been playing well and are playing well, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”