SAN FRANCISCO — Graeme McDowell and Jim Furyk won the battle of par Saturday at the U.S. Open.
Tiger Woods lost a lot more than that.
McDowell showed the kind of fight that won him a U.S. Open two years ago down the coast at Pebble Beach. He scratched out pars and finished with a 4-foot birdie putt that gave him a 2-under 68 and a share of the lead going into the final round at The Olympic Club.
Furyk, also bidding for another trophy from golf’s toughest test, outclassed Woods in the final pairing with key bunker saves and an 8-foot birdie putt on the 17th for a 70, making him the only player who has yet to have a round over par.
They were at 1-under 139, the only survivors against par.
Woods, wearing a key lime shirt, turned in a lemon. He fell out of the lead with two bogeys in the first three holes, couldn’t make a birdie on the stretch of holes that Olympic allows players to make up ground, and ended with a sloppy bogey on the 18th for a 75.
There were only eight scores worse in the third round. And it matched Woods’ highest score when he at least a share of the lead after any round of a major. He also closed with a 75 in 2009 at the PGA Championship when he lost a two-shot lead to Y.E. Yang.
All is not lost for Woods, not to mention another dozen or so players.
In a U.S. Open that is living up to its reputation, it was difficult for anyone to build a big advantage.
McDowell and Furyk were two shots ahead of Fredrik Jacobson, who had a 68. In the group another shot behind were Lee Westwood, whose Saturday-best 67 gave him another shot at his first major, and Ernie Els, who holed a long pitch for eagle on the 17th that carried him to a 68.
The Big Easy is a two-time U.S. Open champion, with that first title coming 18 years ago.
Thirteen players were separated by four shots going into today, a list that includes 17-year-old Beau Hossler, who followed bogeys with birdies for a 70.
Woods, who has never won a major from behind, was five shots back.
His round ended with a shot from the middle of the 18th fairway that hung up in the right collar of rough, and a stubbed chip that took a hard turn to the left some 10 feet away.
When he two-putted for his sixth bogey, his day got a little worse. Climbing the hill toward the fabled clubhouse at Olympic, a photographer brushed past him and Woods banged his hand into the camera. He shook it several times, but later said he was fine.
The real hurt came from Olympic.
“It was just a tough day on the greens, and most of the day, I just kept getting that half-number, right in between clubs all day,” said Woods, who was either well long or short on his approach shots.
Furyk, the only player who has not had a round over par this week, and McDowell played together in the opening two rounds. Today, much more is at stake.
