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!

Woods, Furyk and Toms Share Lead at U.S. Open

Three-time champ Tiger Woods recovered from three straight bogeys to grab a share of the clubhouse lead in the second round of the U.S. Open Friday.

Woods played the back nine in two under to finish with an even par 70 and a 36-hole total of one-under-par.

That left him in a share for the lead with the 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk, who carded a 69, and the 2001 PGA Championship winner David Toms, who shot a 70.

Four players, including Thompson and the 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, were a further stroke back at one over.

Round three on Saturday.

Tiger Shoots 1-Under at U.S. Open

Tiger Woods began his quest for a 15th major with a 1-under-par 69 Thursday, only three shots behind the leader at the U.S. Open at San Francisco's Olympic Club.

Woods' day was good enough to tie him for second with fellow American David Toms, three strokes behind the leader Michael Thompson.

Jack Nicklaus holds the record with 18 major titles.

Tiger Woods Moves Up in World Rankings

Tiger Woods' third-place finish at the Australian Open Sunday moved the former No. 1 player in the world up eight to 50th in the world rankings.

The current No. 1, Luke Donald, is in the top spot for another week, followed by Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer. Steve Stricker and Dustin Johnson switched places from last week with Stricker in fifth and Johnson sixth.

Adam Scott and Jason Day also flipped from the week before with Scott at No. 7 and Day down to eighth. Webb Simpson inched up one to ninth and Matt Kuchar slid to No. 10.

Nick Watney climbed one rung to 11th and Phil Mickelson sank one to 12th. Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, Graeme McDowell and K.J. Choi remained in their respective places from last week.

Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia and Hunter Mahan also kept their rankings from the week prior. David Toms completed the top 20.

Tiger Misses Cut, Will Have Plenty of Time to Work on His Game

Five club pros posted better scores. His caddie, childhood friend Bryon Bell, spent more time raking bunkers than lining up putts. He finished out of the top 100 for only the third time in his career.

No, not a good PGA Championship for Tiger Woods.

The indignities multiplied Friday at Atlanta Athletic Club, an unforgiving layout strewn with hazards. Woods found most of them for the second consecutive day, shooting 73 in the wake of Thursday's unsightly, opening-round 77.

He finished at 10-over for the tournament, missing the cut for only the third time in 56 major-championship starts as a pro. His previous empty weekends: the 2006 U.S. Open and '09 British Open.

Where does Tiger go from here?

He will not qualify for the upcoming PGA Tour playoffs, so his next tour event might not come until late January in San Diego. He plans to play in the Australian Open in November.

"I'll have nothing to do but work on my game," Woods said. "That's going to be good. Sean (Foley) and I haven't had the opportunity to really sit down and do a lot of work, so this will be our time."