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Kelly increases lead to two

Jerry Kelly increased his lead to two shots at 11-under-par 205 with a two-under 70 in Saturday's third round of The Players Championship. Kelly, who is without a victory since he joined the PGA Tour in 1996, will be paired with the top-ranked Tiger Woods in Sunday's final round.

Woods was six shots back of Kelly at the start of the day but closed to within two shots with a remarkable round of 66. Although he made bookend bogeys at the first and last holes Saturday, Woods went eight-under on the 16 holes in between to grab a tie for second place at nine-under 207 with Vijay Singh.

Singh, who will defend his Masters title in two weeks, carded a 70 that included four birdies, two bogeys and a handful of missed birdie putts.

Scott Hoch posted four bogeys, three birdies and an eagle for a 71 and solo fourth at eight-under, while two-time Masters champ Bernhard Langer turned in his second straight round of 68 to finish alone in fifth at minus-seven.

Kelly, a Madison, Wisconsin native who traded in his hockey stick for golf clubs, got off to a terrific start Saturday with birdies at the first and second holes. He made it to 12-under with a birdie at the sixth, but bogeyed the eighth to drop back into a tie with a charging Paul Azinger.

Azinger, the leader after the opening round, birdied three of his first seven holes in round three for 11-under. But he soon came crashing down with seven dropped shots in six holes, beginning with a bogey at the ninth and ending on a triple-bogey seven at the par-four 14th.

Azinger managed to battle back with two birdies the rest of the way for a two-over 74. He finished alongside Billy Mayfair, who had 70, at six-under.

Kelly returned to 12-under with a three-footer for birdie at the 12th for what was at the time a three-shot lead over Singh and Hoch. He found dry land five holes later at the treacherous island green at 17, only to three-putt for bogey from 15 feet.

Woods, two-under for his round after the turn, found just his fifth fairway with a booming drive at the par-five 11th. He then roped his approach from 220 yards out to the front of the green, and his ball trickled down to within two feet to set up his first eagle of the week.

Woods carried the momentum to the 12th, where his sand wedge from 100 yards stuck 10 inches from the pin. He tapped in for birdie to get to eight-under, and he stayed there after saving par at 13 and missing medium length birdie putts at 14 and 15.

At 16, Woods flashed back to the final hole of the final round of last week's Bay Hill Invitational, where he made a sensational shot from a bare lie left of the fairway to set up his winning birdie putt. However, only his pulled drive and matted down lie seemed familiar when his second shot with a six-iron went left and landed on a grassy hill above the green.

Although Woods tried his best to stop his chip close to the hole, it caught the slope and rolled 20 feet by. But the putt left for birdie was straight uphill, and Woods buried it to go to nine-under par.

Woods chose a nine-iron for his shot to the 17th, a surprising selection given that many of the players without Woods' length had gone with a wedge to the front pin placement at the 137-yard hole.

Sure enough, Woods' soaring shot from the tee hit the back half of the green and was saved by a band of rough, 50 feet from the hole and just inches from a watery grave. But Woods played a sensational stroke, rolling the ball to the top of a ridge, then watched as the putt broke left, then right, and fell into the right side of the cup.

Unfortunately for Woods, he followed the putt of the day with a wayward three-iron from the 18th tee that nestled way down into the right rough. After laying up to 113 yards with a pitching wedge, Woods left his third shot short of the green and got up and down to close with a bogey.

Defending champion Hal Sutton made a bit of a move with a third- round 68 to join Kenny Perry at five-under, while New Zealand's Michael Campbell shot 69 to round out the top-10 at minus-four.

David Toms, who matched Woods for low round of the day with a 66, grabbed a share of three-under 213 with Phil Mickelson, Lee Janzen and PGA Tour money leader Joe Durant.

Mickelson continued the up-and-down golf that has defined his game of late. The lefthander bogeyed two of his first three holes but fought back with three birdies over the next eight. He dropped shots at 12 and 17 before closing out his day with a birdie for an even-par 72.

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