Furyk, McDowell Share Lead After Strange Third Round

It was a day where Tiger took a tumble, a 17-year old got a lot of TV time and two former champs were able to figure out the greens.

With a final-hole birdie from 6 feet on Saturday, Graeme McDowell took the outright lead for the first time in the 112th US Open at the Olympic Club. Jim Furyk, who owned the lead for much of the day, grabbed a share of it minutes later by making his own birdie on No. 17.

Now McDowell and Furyk, who played together the first two rounds, will shake hands once again on the first tee of the final round, perhaps 18 holes away from winning the US Open for a second time.

At 1-under-par 209, McDowell (68) and Furyk (70) are the only players under par on a Lake Course that has played fast, firm, and frustrating for the majority of the field, exactly how the US Golf Association likes it. Fredrik Jacobson (68) is the closest pursuer, two shots back at 1 over.

Woods shot 75, the highest third-round score among the top 26 names on the leaderboard, save for the 76 shot by David Toms.

“It was just a tough day on the greens,’’ Woods said. “Tough day all day. Tomorrow I’m just going to have to shoot a good round, post early, and see what happens.’’

A 17-year-old amateur is refusing to go away, showing the kind of resolve it takes to hang around the lead at a US Open for most of the week. Hossler shot 70, finishing where he started, at 3 over. He made four bogeys, and every time made birdie on the very next hole.

“That really helped me to keep my round going,’’ Hossler said of his bounce-back ability. “I still have the goal to be low amateur, but my goal now is to win the tournament.’’

Wow!