MELBOURNE, Australia --- Tiger Woods has been saying since he first showed up on the PGA Tour that he plays only to win.
Lately, he has been making just as many headlines when he loses.
In the 268 official tournaments that Woods has played around the world as a pro, he has never gone three consecutive events without winning when he held at least a share of the 36-hole lead.
That streak is in jeopardy today in the Australian Masters, where Woods looked to be in control with a three-shot lead until stumbling to even-par 72 in the third round to fall into a three-way tie with the Australian duo of Greg Chalmers and James Nitties.
For that, Woods was thankful.
"I played myself into a tie for the lead, and I could have easily played myself straight out of the tournament," Woods said Saturday. "But I grinded, I hung in there and turned it around. That's a huge positive."
He took a lousy session on the practice range onto the course at Kingston Heath, and it never got any better.
Woods blocked a 3-iron on the opening par 5 and failed to make birdie for the first time all week. He came up short of the third green with a wedge and three-putted from the fringe for a bogey. He missed the seventh fairway well to the right, and short-sided himself in a bunker on the eighth, both times making unlikely pars.
The low point came at the 13th, where he was so angry after another shot sailed to the right that he slammed his driver into the ground and it bounced up and into the gallery. A surprised fan caught the club and returned it to him.
"That was my mistake," Woods said. "I got hot after a bad tee shot and let go of the club."
Woods was the 36-hole leader at the Tour Championship only to be passed in the third round by Kenny Perry and beaten in the final round by Phil Mickelson. Then came the HSBC Champions last week in Shanghai, where Woods was tied with Nick Watney after 36 holes, both were passed by Mickelson and Lefty went on to win again.
In the Australian Masters, where Woods faced lesser competition, he has far more to lose.
Of his six victories this year, the easiest might have been the Buick Open. He had the lead going into the final round, but 12 of the 13 players within five shots of the lead were ranked outside the top 100. He had more to gain than he did to lose.
When that was mentioned to Woods after he won by three shots, he agreed.
"Plus, you had a golf course where anyone could get hot and go low," he said at the time.
That probably won't be the case at Kingston Heath, which can be difficult to navigate in only a slight breeze. This is old-style golf, more about angles than power.
Whenever Woods missed a shot over the first two days, he at least missed on the correct side. Not so on Saturday, when he had to work for pars and dropped two shots, usually by hitting in the one place he couldn't.
THE LEADERS
- Tiger Woods, who shot even-par 72 in the third round, fell into a three-way tie to 10-under 206 with two players -- James Nitties and Greg Chalmers -- who are not among the golf elite.
- Nitties played bogey-free in the third round, although he cringed after many of his putts burned the edge of the cup. He just finished his rookie season on the PGA Tour and easily kept his card, although he is No. 223 in the world ranking.
- Chalmers rolled in some big putts in the middle of his round to take the lead, only to give it back with two short misses at the end. He hasn't won in Australia in 11 years, finished among the top 100 on the PGA Tour money list and is No. 194 in the world. His goal this year was not to return to Q-school.
THE PRESSURE
- Woods has never gone three consecutive events without winning when he held at least a share of the 36-hole lead.
- Woods is not the only one facing pressure going into the final round. One online betting agency in Australia was so sure Woods was going to win that it paid out all its bets -- $150,000 -- after he took a three-shot lead after the second round.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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