With a five-under-par 66 in the third round, Woods was again challenging to win his 15th career major, something that has not happened for five golf seasons.<\/b>
\nCARNOUSTIE, Scotland \u2014 For about 20 minutes on Saturday, Tiger Woods was tied for the lead at the 2018 British Open. When his round was over, he was asked what it felt like to be atop the leaderboard.
A decade ago, when he last won a major championship, he would probably have considered the question an insult.
But on Saturday, he paused and smiled. For a moment, there was no response.
The question was rephrased.
\u201cWhen was the last time you felt like this in a major?\u201d
Woods grinned wider.
\u201cIn a major?\u201d he replied. \u201cWell, I haven\u2019t played in too many \u2014 it\u2019s been a few years.\u201d
That\u2019s how long the golf world has gone without Woods as a contender late in a major championship. It was all but a distant memory to Woods himself.
But on Saturday, with a stirring five-under-par 66 in the third round, Woods was again challenging to win his 15th career major, something that had not happened for five golf seasons.
At five under for the tournament, after even-par 71s on Thursday and Friday, Woods was tied for sixth place, four strokes behind the leaders, Jordan Spieth, Kevin Kisner and Xander Schauffele.
Woods\u2019s charge electrified the galleries here at the Carnoustie Golf Links and filled Woods with a kind of confidence not readily seen in recent years.
Making up five strokes on the leaders on Sunday, Woods said, is \u201cdefinitely doable.\u201d
\u201cI\u2019m right there; I have a chance,\u201d he added. \u201cThey\u2019re within reach.\u201d
With six birdies and only one bogey on Saturday, Woods was buoyed, and perhaps even content, something he rarely seems.
\u201cIt felt great, it was a lot of fun,\u201d he said. \u201cJust nice \u2014 great. I really didn\u2019t feel like I made a bad swing until 18.\u201d
And he still made par on the 18th hole with a wedge shot from 83 yards that stopped less than four feet from the hole. And unlike the confused, wayward golfer he had been on greens a month ago, Woods confidently drilled his final putt of the day into the middle of the hole.
While Woods came into Saturday\u2019s third round on the heels of consecutive 71s, his recent history in majors made a charge up the leaderboard unexpected.
He finished tied for 32nd at this year\u2019s Masters and missed the cut at the United States Open at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club last month. Before that, as he noted, he was mostly absent from the spotlight in major championship golf, if not missing entirely.
From 2015 to 2017, Woods played on the weekend of just one major. He missed major tournament golf entirely for two straight seasons, and in the last five seasons, he has made it to a third round in a major only three times.
But on Saturday, Woods birdied the fourth and sixth holes to move to two under par for the tournament, which brought him within sight of the leaders. Then, at the ninth hole, a thunderous roar wafting across the golf course announced that Woods was undoubtedly a factor in the tournament when he sank a 40-foot birdie putt.
Successive birdies at the 10th and 11th holes followed, then another birdie at the par-5 14th hole.
Woods had largely been eschewing his driver in the previous two days to avoid Carnoustie\u2019s daunting rough, but on Saturday, he had no compunction about pulling out the longest club in his bag on the tee. He used it, in fact, to set up what was an easy birdie on No. 14.
Now he was atop the leaderboard, a sight that roused the Scottish fans here, among whom Woods is immensely popular.
\u201cI had no problem working off their energy,\u201d Woods said.
His lone significant hiccup came at the par-3 16th hole, where his tee shot found the green but then trickled just off the putting surface to the right.
Woods\u2019s initial putt, uphill from about 30 feet, stopped eight feet short of the hole. The fans in the large grandstand behind the green groaned.
Walking toward his ball, he immediately swung his putter through the air along the same line again but more forcefully, the universal, silent golfer\u2019s lament: Hit it harder.
Then Woods\u2019s par putt slid past the hole. More groans from the crowd. Woods dropped from the top spot on the leaderboard.
\u201cTwo bad putts in a row,\u201d he said.
But on the dicey 17th hole, Woods\u2019s first two shots were precise, and he two-putted for par. At the 18th hole, where many a round has been ruined, Woods\u2019s conservative iron shot off the tee missed ending up in the winding water hazard by five feet. Still, Woods was in deep rough and he pitched out, setting up the crisp wedge to four feet.
He needed the par putt, and he knew it.
\u201cIt was big for me to not finish with two bogeys on the last three holes,\u201d Woods said. \u201cSo that was another good putt.\u201d
Minutes later, Woods was at ease, even though he knew that the gaggle of golfers playing after him would send him a few spots down the leaderboard.
\u201cI\u2019ve got a chance at this, which is great,\u201d he said.
The weather forecast for Sunday in eastern Scotland may include some rain and even a bit of wind. Woods was actively rooting for it, and said so twice. Playing in his 20th British Open, he figured that his experience would give him an edge on the mostly young golfers ahead of him on the leaderboard.
Woods was asked how relaxed he would be Saturday night \u2014 whether he would sleep comfortably. He seemed incredulous.
He shot his inquisitor a look that seemed to say: I\u2019ve been here before, you know.
\u201cYeah, I\u2019ll be fine,\u201d Woods said.
He has indeed been here before. Just not lately.<\/p>\n

\n

Similarity rank: 16<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: 1<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

TW posts: 20<\/div>\n

TW reposts: 0<\/div>\n

TW likes: 0<\/div>\n

TW sentiment: 3.3<\/div>\n<\/div>\n