Price stays in contention despite bogeys

Nick Price stayed on track for a possible fourth career major title on Saturday, despite leaking five bogeys during his one-under-par 69 in the U.S. Open third round.

The 46-year-old Zimbabwean produced most of the fireworks at a sun-baked Olympia Fields Country Club, rattling off five birdies in the first six holes, and is convinced he can triumph on Sunday if he can rediscover form with his driver.

"If I have one wish tomorrow, that's to drive the ball in the fairway," the former world number one said after finishing five strokes behind leader Jim Furyk at five-under-par 205.

"I'd love to just have what I would call my bread and butter Sunday at a major championship with a driver.

"My driving just hasn't been the strength of my game. It has been throughout my career, and just the last two, three months it's let me down.

"I think today I was a little cagey, I tried to steer the ball a little bit with the driver, and tomorrow I've just got to go out and be positive and aggressive with my driver."

Price, whose last major victory came at the 1994 U.S. PGA Championship at Southern Hills, had fired a five-under-par 65 on Friday to vault into contention.

In bright sunshine on Saturday, he hit approaches to eight and 10 feet at the first and second holes, and then struck a nine-iron approach to 12 feet at the 389-yard third for birdie number three.

At the 164-yard fourth, he rifled an eight-iron to six feet, and coolly rolled in the birdie putt to snatch the outright lead.

He collected a two-putt birdie at the par-five sixth before running up his first bogey of the day at the 212-yard seventh, where his tee shot plugged in a bunker.

Further bogeys followed on nine, 11, 12 and 16 before he struck a superb eight-iron approach to 18 inches at the last to pick up his sixth shot of the day.

"I got off to a great start and I just tried to hang in there," Price said.

"You dream about starting like that in a major championship, any round. It was a lot of fun. I just kept doing the right thing.

"I hit the ball in the fairway and hit a lot of good iron shots and kept leaving myself these putts uphill, which is what you want here.

"But on the back nine my driving let me down. I didn't drive the ball well."

Price, who clinched his first major title with the 1992 U.S. PGA Championship at Bellerive and his second with the 1994 British Open at Turnberry, has the experience to know what is required of him on the last day.

"I know I'm going to have to shoot one- or two-under par to have a realistic chance tomorrow given the same conditions," he said.

"If it's like this tomorrow, they're (the leaders) going to feel the pressure.

"You don't win the U.S. Open on Saturday, and all the players, the top five, six players on that leaderboard, are all aware of that. The fight starts tomorrow on the back nine."