Something’s in the wind: Other players making a run at Woods in 3rd round at PGA

Woods feeling heat at PGA, lead down to 2 strokes

CHASKA, Minn. — Tiger Woods is feeling some heat at the PGA Championship. And no, it’s not because of the weather.

Woods’ lead at Hazeltine National was down to two strokes at the turn, half of what it was when he started the day, and several players were making a run at him. Defending champion Padraig Harrington, U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover and Soren Kjeldsen were all at 5 under.

Vijay Singh chipped in from clear across the green for an eagle on the par-5 No. 7, pulling him within three strokes of Woods, his playing partner.

Despite some ominous clouds hanging over Hazeltine National most of the day, conditions had evened out. The wind is more breezy than gusty, and it’s cooler than it was the first three days.

“The weather’s fine. It’s just windy,” said Steve Flesch, who had seven birdies on his way to a 3-under 69. “The wind is a little tricky, making a lot of the long holes longer.”

Still, players were making birdies — plenty of them. They have to, though, if anyone’s to have any chance of catching Woods.

He is 8-0 in majors when he’s the 36-hole leader. He hasn’t lost a 36-hole lead on the PGA Tour in five years, and that was when he was revamping his swing.

“In fairness to Tiger, that’s not going to last forever. Maybe he’ll be 60 when it’s broken, but it’s not going to last forever,” Harrington said Friday night. “Maybe I’ll be the guy who does it. I suppose that’s the way to look at it.”

Woods started well, making a 3-footer for an easy birdie on his second hole. He ran into some bad luck on the par-3 No. 4 when his ball dropped halfway in the cup and rolled around the rim. Instead of falling, though, it popped back out. The crowd groaned and Woods started in disbelief.

It was his first bogey on a short hole this week.

He left birdie putts short on Nos. 3 and 6, but made a nice par save on the par-5 No. 7. His approach shot hit the green, but then spun back off and into the thick fringe. Woods chipped on, and made the putt.

Phil Mickelson, who has played sparingly this summer as his wife and mother battle breast cancer and made the cut on the number, had another rough day with a 4-over 76 that left him at 8 over. He bogeyed his first three par-5s — including the No. 3 for a second straight day — opened the back nine with three straight bogeys and made just one birdie.

“It’s frustrating for me to not be in contention on the weekend of a major,” Mickelson said. “But that’s motivation for me to work hard.”