STROKE OF THE DAY

"A good golf course makes you want to play so badly that you hardly have the time to change your shoes. "

The South Course at Torrey Pines didn’t disappoint Saturday, as it stymied the best players in the world in the third round of the 2008 U.S. Open. Only 11 of the 80 players who made the cut shot under par, and no one shot better than 2-under.

But just as the course held its own, the best player in the golf universe more than held serve.

Tiger Woods, who entered the day one shot behind Stuart Appleby, recovered from a first hole double bogey with a spectacular finish, posting an eagle on the 13th, a birdie on the 17th and  another eagle on the 18th.

With Appleby’s collapse on the front nine — he shot a six-over-par 41 — Woods’ 3-under back nine put him at 3-under for the tournament, one stroke ahead of Lee Westwood and two strokes ahead of Rocco Mediate who, after the 12th hole, led the field by three strokes.

So, the final group on the final day of the 108th U.S. Open will include Woods, seeking to add a 14th major championship to his glittering resume, and Westwood, an Englishman who has won 18 times on the European Tour but has only one PGA Tour win.

The safe wager is Woods: he’s won six times as a professional at Torrey Pines and has never lost a major championship when holding the lead entering the final round. His biggest obstacle could be himself: he visibly grimaced several times during the round, obviously affected by his still tender left knee, which was operated on two months ago.

“I didn’t hit the ball well,” Woods said. “I didn’t hit the ball well warming up, particularly crisp and clean. It was just a terrible start. I somehow got it back to under par for the day, which is a lot of luck involved. I just hung around, just get back to even par, either for the tournament or for the day.”

At the turn of a rather unspectacular front nine, Mediate led Westwood, Woods and Miguel Angel Jiminez by three strokes.

But as much as the first nine holes lacked spark, the back nine was filled with drama, most of it supplied by Woods. After bogeying the 12th hole to go 1-over for the tournament, the Cypress native followed with an eagle on the par-5 13^th, an estimated 60-foot putt from the back of the green.

Woods bogeyed the 14th and parred the next two holes. But a combination of skill and good fortune marked his final two holes.

After yanking his tee shot right on the par-4 17th, he knocked a 7-iron to the left tongue of a greenside bunker. Then, the greatest player in the world got lucky.

“That (chip) had no business going in the hole,” he said. “I hit it too hard. It came out hot. After I hit it, I thought I would have had about an 8- or 10-footer coming back down the hill.”

That was merely a precursor to a thrilling 18th hole. He rocketed a drive on the par-5, 573-yard 18th and, 227 yards from the green, hit a 5-wood to the middle of the green. It was a shot he actually practiced that morning in anticipation of the par-3 16th, which was playing 225 yards.

He nailed a 40-foot putt for his second eagle of the back nine and sole possession of the overnight lead.

As Woods continued to remind the golf universe of why he is the greatest player of his generation, a few other players slipped through the door that Appleby’s early collapse left wide open.

Westwood, who entered the day two strokes behind Appleby, shot 1-over par on the front nine but then secured two birdies over the next four holes to vault atop the leaderboard at minus two, three strokes ahead of Woods.

But the best front nine of the day came from Rocco Mediate, a Pennsylvania native who finished fourth in the 2001 U.S. Open and tied for sixth in 2005.

Mediate, who entered the third round one stroke behind Appleby, tallied two birdies on the front nine and another on the 10th to gain a three-stroke lead over Westwood and four-stroke lead over Woods.

After a Woods bogey on the 12th, Mediate led the Cypress native by five strokes.

But the par-5 13^th, playing a short 539 yards, proved to be the key hole of the day.

Woods eagled the hole with his dramatic curling putt, but Mediate posted a double bogey, putting him ahead of Westwood by one and Woods by two.

Mediate’s problems continued on the 15th, which he double bogeyed, leaving him behind Westwood by a stroke and one ahead of Woods.

Westwood parred the final three holes to finish 1-under for the day and 2-under for the tournament. But playing two groups behind Woods, he couldn’t help but hear the cheers of many of the estimated 60,000 spectators on the final two holes.

Woods’ eagle, and Westwood’s subsequent par, put Woods atop the leaderboard by a stroke. Mediate finished 1-over for the day to put him at two strokes behind, tied with Geoff Oglivy.

Westwood, one of the few players who has actually come from behind to beat Woods on a Sunday (the 2000 Deutsche Bank Championship) likes his chances of becoming the first European to win the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin’s 1969 victory.

“I was very pleased (today)…it’s just the position I wanted to be in,” he said. “I played very solidly the first three days…the last European to win it was an Englishman…so that would be great to follow in his foot steps.

“I’ve won pretty much everything else there is to win, I think 29 tournaments now, so I proved I can win golf tournaments. But players are always rated on how many major championships they have won. So it’s a good opportunity to try and win one of those.”

Nine players, including the 2005 U.S. Open winner, Geoff Oglivy, and Orange native Hunter Mahan, are within five strokes of the lead. Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and Mike Weir are six behind, as is Long Beach native John Merrick.

One elite player not within striking distance is Phil Mickelson. He entered the day at 4-over and was 1-over Saturday until a disastrous 13th hole, which he quadruple-bogeyed.

Check back to Southland Golf all day Sunday for up-to-the-minute scores and analysis.