Tiger Shares Lead At PGA

Medinah, IL (Sports Network) - Tiger Woods matched the course record at Medinah on Saturday with a seven-under-par 65. In the process, he moved into a tie for the lead with Luke Donald after 54 holes of the PGA Championship. Donald posted a six-under 66 to join Woods at 14-under-par 202, which is good for a two-shot lead over Mike Weir, who also tied Skip Kendall`s course record on Saturday with a 65. Reigning U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy overcame a double-bogey on the first hole to shoot a four-under 68. He is alone in fourth place at 11-under-par 205. Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA Champion, carded a five-under 67 and is tied for fifth place with Sergio Garcia, who shot a 67 himself on Saturday. The pair is knotted at minus-10. Unfortunately, history is not on any of those players` sides. The last 10 winners of this tournament have come from the final pairing, but there`s another big pause for concern. Woods is a perfect 11-for-11 in majors with at least a piece of the 54-hole lead. "I enjoy being in that position. It`s fun," said Woods, who won his first of back-to-back PGA Championships the last time Medinah hosted in 1999. "It`s why I practice all of those hours." When the last groups began their rounds on Saturday, birdie putts flew in from every direction. At one point, 10 players were tied for the lead, but if you didn`t keep posting birdies, you got left behind. "It was not really, in a sense, a major championship feel," explained Woods. "You knew you had to go get it. If I stood at even-par, I would have gotten run over. Generally, that`s not the way it is in major championships." Woods looked like he was in trouble at the opening hole, but he drained a 30- foot par save. He birdied the second, then two-putted from 18 feet for a birdie at the par-five fifth. He two-putted for birdie at the seventh and closed his front nine with a tap- in birdie at the ninth. Woods went out in 32, but still trailed Donald, who played equally well on the front. Donald drained a 20-footer for birdie at the second and made it two in a row thanks to a 25-foot birdie putt at three. He added back-to-back birdies from the fifth and chipped in for birdie at the ninth to reach 13-under par for the championship. "I was off and running," said Donald, who also holed a long par putt on the first hole and was two ahead of Woods when he made the turn. "It was important to get off to a good start." Woods, who won last month`s British Open, took over from there. He parred his first three holes on the back nine, then soared up the leaderboard. At the 244-yard, par-three 13th, the No. 1 ranked player in the world hit a three- iron to six feet to set up birdie. One hole later, Woods missed the green with his second at the par-five 14th, but found a bunker. He blasted out to two feet and tapped in his second birdie in a row. Woods drove into a divot at the 15th, but hit a nine-iron to four feet. He rolled that putt in, then found trouble at 16. Woods three-putted from 40 feet for a bogey to fall down to minus-13, but he stiffed a seven-iron to eight feet at the 17th. He holed that birdie putt, then narrowly missed a 45-foot birdie putt at the last, but walked into the clubhouse with sole possession of the lead. Not for long. Donald played steady golf on the back side, but could not get anything to fall into the cup. He hit a beautiful tee ball to four feet at the par-three 17th and sank the birdie try to match Woods. Donald had a decent look at birdie at the last, but missed. Now he has a final-round matchup with a player who never loses a major when sharing the lead after the third round. He`s ready for the challenge. "Tiger is the best player in the world and brings with him a huge crowd," said Donald, who has something resembling a home-field advantage with the galleries since he attended nearby Northwestern University. "This is where I want to be." K.J. Choi managed a five-under 67 on Saturday and is alone in seventh place at minus-nine. Defending champion Phil Mickelson (68), overnight co-leader Tim Herron (72), Ian Poulter (68) and Chris DiMarco (67) are knotted in eighth place at eight- under-par 208. Henrik Stenson, another co-leader from Friday, shot a one-over 73 and is part of a group tied for 12th place at minus-seven. Billy Andrade, the final man with a share of the lead after 36 holes, was even worse in round three. He struggled to a six-over 78 and is tied for 34th place at two-under-par 214. (Copyright 2005 by The Sports Network)