Par had only one peer Saturday in the U.S. Open.

Fighting to hang on by the seat of his knickers, Payne Stewart birdied the last hole after a long, punishing day on Pinehurst No. 2 to finish the third round as the only player under par.

Stewart wound up with a 72 for 1-under 209, and will take the lead into the final round of the U.S. Open for the second straight year.

He had a four-stroke lead at The Olympic Club before stumbling to a 74 and losing to Lee Janzen. This may be even more difficult. Only one stroke separates Stewart from Phil Mickelson, with Tiger Woods and David Duval very much in the picture.

"I've wanted this opportunity," Stewart said. "And now I've got to go out and deal with it. That's the fun of it, having to deal with the restless night of sleep that I'm going to have. If I didn't enjoy this, I would not have entered the golf tournament."

Mickelson bogeyed three straight holes starting on No. 15, but he managed to apply the brakes just in time. His 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th gave him a 73 and put him at 210.

Perhaps the most dangerous player on Pinehurst is Tiger Woods, who put on a spectacular display of shotmaking and, more importantly, patience. Woods was 3 over after only two holes, but played the last 16 holes in 1 under to finish with a 72 for 211.

Two strokes is as close Woods has been to the 54-hole lead in a major since his runaway victory in the Masters.

"I love the feeling of pressure," Woods said. "If you can't stand the heat, don't play."

Mickelson sounds as though he's up to the task.

"Cool," he said about being in the final pairing in a major championship for the first time.

No other active player without a major has won more on the PGA Tour (13) than Mickelson. He was a little loose with his swing on Saturday and headed to the range after his round to straighten it out.

As long as his short game stays hot, he likes his chances.

"I do feel more relaxed," he said. "I feel I don't have to be perfect. I feel like if there's a slight error, there is still an opportunity for recovery."

Woods will be paired with Tim Herron, who had one birdie, one bogey and 16 hard-earned pars in a round of 70 that also left him just two strokes behind.

Duval, who was tied at 3 under with Mickelson and Stewart to start the round, dropped five shots over six holes on the front, but closed with 10 straight pars for a 75. He was just three strokes back at 212, along with Steve Stricker and Vijay Singh.

"I'm going to enter the final day three shots behind the leader, and not many people between us," Duval said. "I probably can't shoot much better than par tomorrow, maybe 1 under. But I think I'm pretty close to sitting on the winning score right now."

Stricker was the only player to break par at Pinehurst No. 2 Saturday, thanks to a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 2 and the most spectacular shot of the day, an 8-iron from the bunker on No. 3 that spun back into the cup for an eagle 2.

"It got me in a position to shoot that 69," Stricker said. "I played well, but it's still a struggle out there."

A struggle? That may be putting it lightly.

"Augusta on steroids," Brandel Chamblee said, offering one of the tamer assessments.

John Cook shot a 77, a pretty good score by his standards.

"I played this as a par-88," Cook said. "This golf course today ... nobody in the game has ever seen. Ever."

Just think -- it could have been worse.

Cloud cover that moved in before the leaders teed off and occasional sprinkles provided a small dose of moisture, but not enough to contend with pin placements that were tucked on ledges of the domed greens designed by Donald Ross.

More than one player did a little jig just at the sight of their ball staying on the green. Herron, also known as "Lumpy," actually jogged to the 13th after his putt from 30 yards away stopped close to the hole.

Mickelson may have summed it up best. His eyes bulged in disbelief upon hearing the gallery roar when his final approach snuggled up to birdie range.

"I feel like I'm just a smidge away," Mickelson said, who figures to stick around for the conclusion after hearing a report from his expectant wife that their first child probably won't arrive for at least another week.

The average score was nearly six strokes over par. Of the 68 players who made the cut, they hit an average of just 41.6 percent of the greens in regulation. Seven players, including John Daly and 1992 U.S. Open champion Tom Kite, failed to break 80.

"I heard Duval say in his interview Thursday that the guy who wins will hit 14 or 15 greens a round," Chamblee said after his 74. "Yeah, that guy will win, but he ain't here."

That guy sure wasn't Duval on Saturday.

Pinehurst No. 2 made the world's No. 1 player look like he belonged on the Nike Tour early on. After starting off with two nice par saves, Duval really fell off the radar screen.

The only green he hit was on the par-5 fourth when he caught a break -- his second shot took a favorable bounce off the scoreboard and left him a relatively easy chip to the green.

But he badly missed his 5-foot birdie putt, and it only got worse from there.

He took double-bogey on the next hole by missing the green left, then hitting it over the green to the right. He bogeyed No. 6 by hitting a bunker on the right, then blasting out through the green on the left.

Is this golf or tennis?

But even though Duval made the turn in 40, even though Woods bumbled his way across the first two holes, they both played the kind of golf that wins a U.S. Open -- especially this U.S. Open.

Stewart understands that as well as anyone. He has been in contention enough in a U.S. Open to realize there will be bumps along the way. Stewart bogeyed three in a row starting on No. 8 when he started missing the greens.

He, too, gutted it out on the back nine and finally reaped the rewards with his 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

Another lead in the U.S. Open, another chance to win.

"What that does for me is it tells me I'm playing some pretty good golf," Stewart said. "That motivates me."

AP