Woods lead cut to one shot

Tiger Woods kept things interesting in the Buick Open with a shaky start Saturday.
Four strokes ahead after the second round, Woods had a double bogey on his first hole Saturday and was three strokes behind at one point before rallying for a 1-under 71 and a one-stroke lead.

Woods, preparing for the PGA Championship next week at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minn., has won 24 of 26 PGA Tour events when leading or tied or the lead entering the final round.

Esteban Toledo, who enjoyed the lead for a few holes, was a stroke back at 14 under after a 67. Fred Funk (67) and Bob Tway (68) were 12 under, and first-round leader Kent Jones (70) followed at 11 under.

Woods, playing his first tournament since his chance for a Grand Slam ended at the British Open, had gone 51 holes without a bogey, dating to the third hole in the final round at Muirfield.

But his streak ended with a double bogey on No. 1, which dropped him to 12 under.

Woods' drive went into the right rough, his second shot sailed long and left, out of bounds by a foot. His fourth shot landed in a greenside bunker and he missed a 6-foot bogey putt.

Woods got a stroke back with a birdie on No. 2. Then he birdied 7 and bogeyed 9 to finish the front nine at 1 over for the day and 13 under overall.

Toledo had a three-stroke lead at 16 under with a birdie at No. 13, then struggled and fell into second. He has never won on the PGA Tour and his lone career win came in the 2000 Mexican Open.

Toledo's bogeyed the 15th and missed a 2-foot birdie putt on the next hole. He missed the green on the par-3 17th, then bogeyed to fall to 14 under, one shot behind Woods.

Woods birdied three of five holes on the back nine before bogeying 18.

Woods, who has won seven of the last 12 major tournaments, has a chance this week and next to add to his impressive resume.

If he wins the Buick Open and the PGA Championship he would be the first player to win three majors in one year twice. Ben Hogan did it in 1953 and Woods did it two years ago.

Woods also would also be the first player to win a major after winning a tournament the previous week since Lee Trevino won the Canadian Open and the British Open in consecutive weeks 31 years ago. Woods won this year's Masters and U.S. Open, the first two legs of the Grand Slam.

Phil Mickelson and Ed Fiori are the two players who have won tournaments in which Woods had at least a share of the lead going into the final round.

Mickelson took him down in the 2000 Tour Championship at East Lake, and Fiori beat him at the 1996 Quad Cities Classic in Woods' third tournament as a pro.

Woods is playing the week before a major for the fourth time and all of those tournaments have been the Buick Open.

In his previous three visits to Warwick Hills, he tied for eighth in 1997, tied for fourth in 1998 and tied for 11th in 2000 before going on to win the PGA Championship as the third leg of his "Tiger Slam."

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