Woods cranks up the birdie machine, moves to 1 under at US Open

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Late surge puts Woods in US Open running

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Dustin Johnson plays his best at Pebble Beach no matter what month, no matter what stage.

Hours after Tiger Woods came to life in the U.S. Open with his best round of the year to get into contention, Johnson turned in a prime-time performance that was every bit as good Saturday with a 5-under 66 to build a three-shot lead.

Johnson, the two-time defending champion in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, overpowered the course and birdied his last two holes, hitting 6-iron into the par-5 18th to leave him one round away from a major championship.

Woods, however, stole the show on a sunny afternoon along the Pacific Coast.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Prime time brings out the best in Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open.

Nine shots out of the lead after a pair of sloppy bogeys early in his round, Woods came to life Saturday at Pebble Beach with some clutch putts and extraordinary shots that had been missing since his return to golf two months ago.

He birdied his last three holes for a 5-under 66 — his best round of the year — that put him at 1-under 212 through 54 holes and smack into contention going into the final round.

The old Tiger showed up on the 18th hole.

Blocked behind a pair of cypress trees, some 265 yards from the flag into an ocean breeze, Woods hit a 3-wood toward the Pacific and urged it on toward the green. “C’mon! C’mon!” he screamed at it, and followed that with a “Yes!” when it stopped 15 feet away.

“It’s been a while,” Woods said. “I hadn’t played good enough for anyone to cheer anything. So it was nice to actually put it together on the back nine and put myself right back in the championship.”

Graeme McDowell birdied his first two holes and made the turn at 5-under with a 4-foot birdie on the ninth. He had a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson, a two-time Pebble winner who put on a powerful display to challenge for the lead.

No one else was under par.

Phil Mickelson, who started the final round two shots behind, was 3 over for the round and seven shots out of the lead as he made his way along the back nine. Ernie Els and Gregory Havret of France were at even par.

Woods’ goal was to get back to even, and he did one better. He had to wait a few hours to find out where it would leave him at the end of a third round that already was shaping up to be a wild one.

The USGA pushed back the starting times so the third round could be broadcast in prime time on the East Cost, just like two years ago at Torrey Pines. Woods delivered quite a show that day by turning a five-shot deficit into a one-shot lead.

Whatever the deficit by the end of the day, he won’t have as many players to get past on Sunday in going for a 15th major.

Woods was even for the day through nine holes when he began his charge — quietly at first with birdies on the 11th and 13th, then with a burst that set off cheers that could be heard across the Monterey Peninsula.

First came his birdie putt on the 16th. Then he hit 5-iron to the back edge of the green on the par-3 17th and made a curling, downhill birdie putt that he was just trying to lag close. Woods finished with an aggressive play around the trees and onto the green, a shot the gallery is accustomed to seeing — just not recently.

“As I said this week, it was a process,” he said. “And I was building. And it was close. Today, I hit shots the way I know I can hit shots.”

McDowell quickly built a four-shot lead with birdies on the opening two holes as Mickelson went the other direction, with a three-putt bogey on the opening hole and a chip that he hit 15 feet by the hole on the second.

The course was set up to encourage some risky shots, with the tees moved forward on the third and fourth holes. That made the fourth hole play only 284 yards to the flag, up the slope with tail wind.

That’s where Johnson made his move.

He hit a 3-iron on the fourth hole, leaning to his right with hopes that would keep his ball out of the bunker, and it caught enough of the slope to roll to within 4 feet for an eagle. Two holes later, he hit a long iron up the 35-foot hill on the par-5 sixth that scoot past the hole to the back edge of the green for a chip-and-putt birdie.

Johnson took the outright lead on the shortest hole in U.S. Open history — the par-3 seventh, playing 99 yards — with a lob wedge that took one hop past the pin and spun back to inside a foot. His only lapse was missing a 3-foot par on the ninth as McDowell regained the lead.