US PGA Day 3 - As it happened

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11.53: Most unexpected - Woods misses his birdie putt and hsa to settle for a two shot lead going into the final round. He looked far from invincible today and Harrington, Yang, even Stenson and Glover will feel that they can challenge for the title tomorrow.

Join us here at RTÉ.ie for live text coverage of the final round of the final major of 2009.

11.52: And Singh almost holes from the fairway with an even better shot. But Vijay's putter has sent him plummeting to +1 and even this birdie won't get him back in the hunt.

11.50: Woods pops a glorious approach into the final green and has given himself a real chance to stretch his lead to three shots.

11.42: Glover pars the final hole to finish up on -4 and the US Open champion is not out of it.

11.40: Tiger pars the 17th and he heads to the final tee with a two shot lead over Harrington and Yang.

11.38: Harrington's playing partner Ross Fisher has also bogeyed the last to drop to -2 for the tournament. This 18th could have a big say tomorrow about who gets their hands on the Wanamaker Trophy.

11.34: In goes Harrington's bogey - his only one today, to go with three birdies - and he'll start his final round on -6.

11.32: No. Padraig will bogey the last and now YE Yang will most likely play in the final pairing tomorrow with Tiger Woods.

11.31: Nasty chip from the back of the green from Harrington and it powers past the hole to the far edge of the green. He now has an absolute stinker of a putt to save par and to save a bogey-free round.

11.30: The umbrellas are coming out as we near the end of today's play. It's still fairly light and unlikely that it will interrupt the climax.

11.29: Woods makes his short par putt at 16 and will fancy his chances at the short 17th.

11.26: Harrington blasts it through the back of the 18th green with his second shot. Overcooked it, and now he has his work cut out to make par.

11.25: Tiger pulls out an outrageous recovery shot from a near vertical bank at the back of the green. It sails up onto the green and nearly holes it. Scandalous.

11.21: My oh my - Woods sends his approach at 16 wild left and into the crowd. Is there one more twist left this evening?

11.19: Down it goes. Par for Padraig and there's one hole to play for the Irishman.

11.18: Padraig goes for the bird at 17th, but overshoots and leaves himself a short tester for par.

11.16: Ernie Els, who was at -6, has bogeyed the last three holes to drop all the way back to -3, as has playing partner Soren Kjeldsen. A really disappointing finish from two who were challenging near the top an hour ago.

11.15: Ross Fisher was lingering down at -1, but has bounced back with birdies at 15 and 16 to lie on -3.

11.12: Harrington finds the centre of the green at the short 17th, but it's a long putt for birdie.

11.09: YE Yang finishes on six under par for the Championship and is right there to mount a challenge on the final day of a major.

11.04: No is the answer. A par at 16 for Harrington. But he has the short 17th to come.

10.55: Well, well, well. As if he heard me, Tiger chips in from the edge of the green at 14 to move one ahead of Padraig at -8. That was one of those shots that they replay at the end of the Championship. A Tiger special, the fist was pumping. Can Harrington respond?

10.53: Woods' chip from the back of the 14th flies past the hole and he will do extremely well to hole the putt that remains.

10.50: Ay carumba! Harrington has a 15 footer at 15 to take sole control of the lead. Perfect pace, but he misses left by an inch.

10.48: Woods blasts it onto the green at 14 and matches Harrington in pushing it through the back, but leaving himself plenty of green to work with.

10.45: Bogey from Kjeldsen at 16 and he drops back to -4, as does his playing partner Ernie Els, who's down to -5. Their fates seem intertwined today.

10.44: Yang has another go at birdie at 17 and leaves it short. But it was right on line.

10.42: Vijay misses another shot at 13 and he'll fall away to -2. Literally the only thing costing Singh a seat at the table is his putter.

10.39: The hunt is over folks! Tiger has been caught - now it's a straight battle and it's all to play for.

10.34: Another amazing approach from Yang at 16 - three birdies in a row for the Korean and he moves to -6.

10.33: Padraig Harrington has a share of the lead after another rock solid birdie at 14. Go on the defending champion!

10.32: Els is putting like a dream - he drops one in from the edge of the green to move up to -6 with Harrington.

10.31: Lucas Glover misses a long par putt at 13 and he'll fall back to -3.

10.29: McIlroy pars the last to wrap up on -1 for the Championship. He was as low as -3, but having started at +1, it's not bad at all.

10.27: Harrington drives right through the green at 14 into the rough, but he should be alright - he has a lot of green to work with for his next.

10.24: South Korea's YE Yang birdies again to move to -5 and into a tie for third place with Els and Kjeldsen. Birdies on 14 & 15 have propelled him into the title race.

10.21: Harrington scores with a tough eight footer for par at 13 to stay in the race, meanwhile Tiger gets aggressive and powers his approach at 12 through the back of the green.

10.19: Sorry - Stenson's 2nd rebounded some distance from the hole and he can't convert the tough birdie putt. He pars it to finish on -4 for the tournament. Clubhouse lead, as they say.

10.18: Stenson's 2nd into the 18th green literally hits the cup and bounces away - stunning accuracy. Should be a bird.

10.17: Kjeldsen makes yet another birdie at 14 to move back up to -5.

10.16: Els had a real chance to join Harrington at -6, but fluffed his lines with a short putt. Stays at -5.

10.14: Vijay makes a putt! Saves his par at 12 after rescuing from a horrible lie off the green. Tiger pars as well.

Report from Greg Allen in Minnesota: This is now getting interesting and Woods looks a little tense and certainly played some very conservative - almost defensive - shots on the front nine. And then there was that three putt on the fourth hole from no more than 30 feet. The real Tiger was in evidence to some degree in round one, but he has not putted consistently well all week and has aimed away from a lot of dangerously cut pins.

As for Harrington, after a dodgy start when he was in heavy rough on the first and a fairway bunker on the second, he has done what he said he was going to do yesterday and take his finger off the caution button. So far so good, but trouble lurks on the closing three holes and he's surely got to take some care from the 16th hole on.

10.06: And Padraig nails a testing par putt to maintain his momentum.

10.02: Harrington finds himself in the sand at 12 and tries what Yang pulled off earlier and comes within an inch of holing from the far side of the green. Terrific shot.

10.01: Solid par saves from both Els and Kjeldsen at 13 as they stay at -5 and -4 respectively.

9.59: Stenson fires one right at the flag at the par three 17th and has a chance for another bird to stay in the hunt.

9.56: Singh's putter continues to let him down as he misses one from 10 feet to drop back to -3.

9.55: Not such good news for young McIlroy - he's bogeyed the 15th to drop back to -1.

9.53: Harrington bags another bird at 11 to move to within one of Tiger - this is a steely chase from the Dubliner.

9.47: All change near the top - Lucas Glover and Kjeldsen both drop back to -4, while Ernie Els jumps to -5 after pitching it in from about 60 yards at the 12th

9.43: Brenden Jones, who I don't think I've mentioned all day, chips in from the greenside bunker and moves to -3. He's been just off our leaderboard most of the day, but he's been hanging on and now he's back.

9.42: Kjeldsen has put his 2nd shot at the 12th up against a tree and is forced to play back away from the green. He'll be happy with bogey from where he is.

9.39: Stenson putts from 50 or 60 feet for eagle at 15 and gets it within 3 feet. He pops in the bird and goes to -4. Great round from the Swede so far.

9.38: McDowell bogeys the last to go into the final round at level par. Four birdies, three bogeys - he had a number of missed birdie chances, it could have been better.

9.36: Another gorgeous approach from Vijay, another awful short putt - he should be in the lead by now.

9.35: Another steady par from Harrington at the 10th and he's looking focused.

9.33: Yang pulls off the most outrageous bunker shot I've seen in a while. Far side of a wide green, he sails it all the way to the flag and then stops it dead within six feet. Amazing.

9.31: Another missed chance from the blade of young McIlroy - he has narrowly missed out on a lot of birdie putts. At least he's putting himself in the position to have those chances - silver lining.

9.27: Soren Kjeldsen is quietly knocking in a whole messload of birdies - he converts another from 15 feet at the 11th and he's now -5 with Harrington and Glover.

9.25: And Els is cooking now - another awesome approach to within 10 feet at the 11th. And he converts the putt to move to -4. Back from the dead, Ernie Els.

9.24: Tiger leaves his birdie attempt at the 8th short as well and he stays at -7.

9.23: Harrington has a shot for birdie at 9, but leaves it just short. Still at the turn, he's two behind Tiger - must be happy with that.

9.21: Vijay Singh looks to be falling away but he has chipped in at the 7th from off the green for an eagle and that's how quickly things can turn around here folks. He's back to -4.

9.19: Back-to-back birdies from McDowell and he's up to -1 with one hole to play, but McIlroy finds some real trouble in the bunker at the 13th and posts bogey to fall back to -2.

9.08: But Lucas Glover joins him on -5 right away after fine recovery work at the 7th.

9.07: Padraig is heating up - he drops in a 20 foot birdie at the 8th to move into second place on his own at -5.

9.04: Graeme McDowell makes birdie at 16 to move back to level par. It's been a good scrapping round from McDowell.

9.02: Vijay has a nightmare at the 6th and does pretty well to make bogey. He falls back to -2.

9.00: And Harrington sails in an excellent shot at the par three 8th and gives himself another birdie chance.

8.59: Yang misses his birdie putt, but Westwood double bogeys the 8th to fall back to -2.

8.58: Harrington reaps the rewards of his early resistance - a birdie at the 7th and he's -4 now.

8.57: McIlroy has a real go at the 12th, but his putt will not drop. Stays at -3.

8.56: 25 foot bird for Soren Kjeldsen and he moves up to -3, as does Ernie Els, who converts his bird at the 9th.

8.54: Yikes! YE Yang is playing out of his skin - a brilliant approach to the 10th green and he should make bird again there.

8.50: And after all those good shots, Vijay manages to miss a six footer for birdie. That'll hurt.

8.49: Els sails in an amazing approach at the 8th that is a fraction of an inch away from the hole from about 170 yards. That's a bird.

8.48: Really solid birdie putts from Westwood and Yang move both of them up to -4.

8.47: And Woods pulls a magnificent recovery out of the rough to pretty much guarantee his par.

8.46: Stunning shot by Quiros at the par three 17th and it's an easy bird after that - the young Spaniard is -3 all of a sudden.

8.45: Real luck for Glover - he gets a line to the green and plays an ace recovery towards the flag. Impressive steel.

8.44: Mistakes from the top two - Woods sends his iron at the 5th wide into the crowd, while Glover's drive at the 6th goes sideways after his standing foot slips.

8.43: Vijay pops in a glorious approach at the 5th and it's a certain bird.

8.42: Grrr. Harrington's birdie putt refuses to break and has no chance.

8.41: The Big Easy rebounds to -2 after a birdie at the 7th.

8.39: Majorly impressive approach to the 6th green by Harrington - birdie time?

8.36: Birdie for Alvaro Quiros at 16 moves him to -2 and he milking the crowd big time. He's really enjoying himself out there - good to see.

8.35: First chink in the armour - Woods bogeys the par three 4th after a most unusual missed tiddler.

8.34: D'oh! Stenson has a real chance for bird at the 11th after an exquisite chip in out of trouble, but he pushes way past.

8.31: Fisher misses a relatively easy par putt and drops to -1. Not a good start for the Englishman.

8.29: Some kind of forcefield keeps Westwood's birdie putt on the 6th out of the hole, but he pars comfortably.

8.27: Tiger sensibly finds the centre of the green at the short 4th. Staying out of trouble.

8.25: Yang drops in an impressive birdie on the 7th to move up to -3 as well. Things are heating up below the leader.

8.23: McIlroy knocks in another big old bird at the 10th from the edge of the green and he's now -3. Get in there Rory.

8.21: On the 3rd green, long birdie putt for Tiger. He had his club outstretched, he was sure it was in, but no, out she curls. And moments later, the exact same thing happens to Vijay.

8.19: Steve Flesch finished up with a 69 and lies on level par. After a blistering start, it all went a little haywire in the back nine - still the best round of the day so far, along with Francesco Molinari (also level).

8.18: Harrington makes another clutch par putt, but he'll need to do more than save pars to defend his title.

8.17: Tiger follows him, and is just outside Singh's, but still solid.

8.16: Delicious approach from Vijay into the 3rd green, decent birdie chance awaits him there.

8.15: Harrington leaves his birdie putt at the 4th quite short, leaving himself a tricky one for par.

8.13: Els and Ames both drop shots after missed putts to fall back to -1.

8.10: Serious, serious pressure par putt from Harrington on the third. 15 feet from the edge of the green and he glares it into the cup. Still at -3.

8.09: McIlroy slams in a monster birdie at the 9th to jump up to -2 and all of a sudden he's right in the mix. I say in the mix, but he's still six behind Tiger.

8.08: Ian Poulter has double bogeyed the fourth after a shocking missed putt that he sent way past the hole.

8.07: Easy bird at the 2nd for Tiger and he's now at -8. Uh-oh.

8.04: Bang - Stenson holes out from at least 25 feet at the 9th for another birdie and he jumps up to -3.

8.02: Massive birdie putt from YE Yang, which sees him move to -2 as well. There are a host of real names at -3 and -2, but can anyone catch Woods? Will he even give them a chance?

7.59: McDowell drops a shot at the 12th to drop back to +1. He's had so many near misses for birdie it must be getting to him.

7.55: Els makes his bird, Kjledsen drops one, Glover makes his to move out on his own in second place at -4. It's all go now at Hazeltine.

7.55: Wow - amazing iron shot by Lucas Glover into the 2nd hole. From 180 yards to within 2 feet. Not bad.

7.54: Par at the first for El Tigre, same for Vijay.

7.53: Fantastic shot at the par three 4th by Ernie Els - the Big Easy is -1 and has a real shot at birdie there.

7.52: McIlroy birdies the 6th and his birdie putt on the 7th shaves the hole, but will not drop. He's on -1.

7.50: Lee Westwood has birdied the second to move into the chasing pack at -3.

7.47: Woods leaves his approach short of the first green, while Singh plonks his to within 15 feet.

7.44: Harrington's drive on the 2nd puts him into the sand, but his approach is pretty sweet - centre of the green.

7.43: Stenson eats up the par 5 7th for birdie to move to -2. He looks composed and ready for more.

7.42: His playing partner Vijay Singh shows him how it's done - right down the middle.

7.40: Tiger is off and running. He finds the rough with his opening drive. Bogeyed the first yesterday. It would give everyone hope if he did it again today.

7.35: After a short second, Harrington scrambles to make a relatively tidy par at the first, as does playing partner Ross Fisher.

7.31: Zach Johnson shot a two under round of 70 today, he winds up on +1, while Miguel Angel Jiminez has gone in with an overall score of +3, one better than yesterday.

7.29: Soren Kjeldsen fires in two quick birdies and he jumps up to -3. Superb start from the wee Dane.

7.26: The official line from Paddy Power, who paid out more than £1.25million at odds varying from 7/4 pre-tournament to 1/5, is: 'Tiger is a dead cert - he just doesn't lose from the front. It's cost us an arm and a leg but the way we see it is that we'll be paying it out on Sunday night anyway so his backers may as well get their cash now and enjoy the rest of the weekend on us!'

Very nice of them, I'm sure you'll agree. Any chance the decision will come back to haunt them? Stay tuned to find out.

7.25: Steve Flesch made bogey-double bogey on 14 & 15, but birdies 16 to get back to level par.

7.23: Sorry about that, technical difficulties. We're back now and Harrington strikes himself a fine drive off the first tee - the hunt is on and Tiger is the prey!

7.00: Harrington tees off in 20 minutes, Tiger in 40.

6.56: Rory pushes his birdie putt wide, but converts his par. Chance missed.

6.54: Stunning approach at the third from McIlroy - another birdie chance, while McDowell powers in a birdie at the eight to get back to level par straight away.

6.53: Steve Flesch misses a tough par putt on 14 and will drop back to -1.

6.51: Phil Mickelson has wrapped up his round of 76 to lie on +8 for the tournament.

6.47: Better news from McIlroy as he pops in his birdie to get back to level par straight away. The Minnesota crowds are giving the young man some serious cheers.

6.46: Clang from McDowell. He totally scuffs a chip from the edge of the green on the 7th and can't save his par with the putter. He'll drop down to +1.

6.45: Henrik Stenson drops in his first birdie on the day from the edge at the third to move to -1.

6.43: More like it from McIlroy at the 2nd, perfect drive followed by an excellent approach and he's got a good chance for birdie.

6.41: Tiger, in respledent royal blue today, is warming up on the practice green. Hazeltine braces itself.

6.38: McIlroy is out there, but misses a shortish putt on the 1st green to bogey and drop back to +1.

6.35: Flesch's round gets better and better - another birdie at 13 to move to -2. If any of the leaders produces a round close to this, we've a contest on our hands. Flesch is five under for his round today through 13.

6.32: Retief Goosen wraps up his round of 70, moving up to +2.

6.30: Hunter Mahan comes out fighting as well, he pops in a firm birdie at the third to move to -1 and Stephen Ames follows suit at the 4th to join him at -1.

6.26: Soren Hansen has finished his third round with a score of 74 to lie on +6, Jim Furyk finishes on +5, while Boo Weekley lies on +3 at the end of his round.

6.22: Steve Flesch bounces back with a birdie at 12 - the toughest hole on the course statistically this week - to get back to -1.

6.17: McDowell is really on fire today - he may have been in trouble in the greenside bunker at the 5th, but he scoops out an awesome shot to shave the edge of the hole. Only a par, but it's got to give his confidence, the way he's started.

6.15: Luke Donald finishes his round today on +5 after an up-and-down day. His second round score of 77 has ruined his weekend.

6.07: Richard Sterne nails a sweet birdie putt from the edge of the 5th green to move up to level par.

6.03: Steve Flesch's amazing run has come to an end - his blemish-free card had four birdies on the front nine - after he missed a tough par putt at the 11th and he drops back to level par.

6.00: Villegas has not followed up on his stunning birdie at the third - the rest of his front nine has been a nightmare - bogey bogey for 4 & 5 and then a double at 6 and he's dropped all the way down to +6.

5.57: Veteran Michael Allen fires in his long approach at the first and clatters it against the flag. He strolls up and taps in his birdie to move to level par.

5.54: Mickelson finally grabs his first birdie of the day on the 14th to move back up to +8.

5.52: McDowell measures a 40 foot putt well and pops in a delicate three footer for par on the third.

5.47: Quiros misses that birdie putt - it had some serious move on it left to right and the young Spaniard just pushed it a little too hard. He stays at level par.

5.45: Cink sinks a massive birdie putt on the 6th to move to level par. That was at least 30 feet with a decent break - that's why he won the Open.

5.42: Glorious tee shot at the par three 4th by Quiros - he sails it in over 200 yards right beside the pin. Birdie chance to move under par.

5.38: The rain begins to fall on the course, but it's a polite drizzle so far and shouldn't have too much of an effect.

5.35: G Mac on the attack! McDowell nails a breaking 12 foot putt on the 2nd for a birdie-birdie start to his round. One under for the Portrush man.

5.33: We've just heard the good word for punters - Paddy Power are now paying out on Tiger winning the title. Amazing.

5.30: Getting closer to the big guns coming out on the course now, as Steve Flesch charges his way onto our leaderboard, which you can see by clicking the link at the top of the page there.

5.25: Alvaro Quiros hammers his second shot straight down the par 5 fairway - with his driver. Crikey. It finishes just shy of the green.

5.23: Graeme McDowell comes out fighting - a solid three at the first moves him up to level par.

5.21: Steve Flesch does it again - another birdie at eight - his fourth in the front nine 0 and he is now down to one under.

5.17: Solid mid-range putt on the 2nd green from Alvaro Quiros to move back to level par early doors. If he keeps putting like that, with his length, he could really climb the ladder.

5.14: But he undoes it all at the next - misses a straightforward eight foot putt on the 13th to drop back to +3.

5.07: The Goose from the greenside bunker! Holes out at the 12th with a terrific chip, but then bounces his wedge towards his bag in mock frustration. It was only for a par. Still - sweet shot Goose.

5.04: Nasty, nasty missed putt from Mickelson on the 11th green, he sends it as far past as he was initially and he's going to drop to +8 and into last place on his own. At least.

5.02: Stewart Cink dabs in a sharp downhill eight footer on the 2nd green to move back to +1.

5.00: Luke Donald misses a six footer at 12 to double bogey that one and with a bogey on the 11th to boot, he tumbles back down to +6.

4.54: Another bogey for Mickelson and he drops down to a tie for last place at +7 after 10 holes.

4.50: Steve Flesch is on the charge - a second successive biride at six and he's now level par. Scorching start from the American.

4.46: Open champion and fairy tale villain Stewart Cink has taken to the course and parred the first, as has Masters champion Angel Cabrera.

4.42: Camillo Villegas is deep in the greenside bunker at the third and he lofts it up high and straight into the cup to move to +2. Early contender for shot of the day from the Colombian.

4.40: Birdie for Steve Flesch at the par 5 to move to +1.

4.32: Phil Mickelson is struggling - two bogeys on the two par fives he's faced (3 & 7) and he's down at +6.

4.30: Bogeys at 10, 12 and 13 for Soren Hansen and the Dane drops down to the basement - +8 for the Championship.

4.28: Birdies at 7 and 10 for Luke Donald as he moves back down to +3.

4.21: The Goose bogeys the par four ninth to drop back to +2. Still, four birdies today so far.

4.18: Early birdies out on the course for Scott McCarron, Steve Flesch, Thomas Levet and Anthony Kim, all of whom are on +2.

4.16: Stat attack for you - Tiger has held the lead at the halfway stage in eight previous majors. He has won all of them. Every single one. He is now 1/5 to win.

4.13: Who do you think is going to claim the title? Is it all over already? If so, who's going to emerge from the chasing pack to earn second spot? Harrington is favourite, but there's real value to be had with the likes of Poulter at 50/1. Get your hopes, dreams and rants into sportonline@rte.ie

4.10: Other Irish interest today sees Graeme McDowell (+1) tee off at 5.07pm, while Rory McIlroy (level) begins at 6.19pm.

4.08: Those starting the day well include Retief Goosen who has roared up to +1 from +4 overnight after eight holes, and Justin Leonard who has moved up to +3 after seven.

4.06: Elsewhere down the leaderboard, perennial each-way pick Sean O'Hair is on +5 after five holes and Jim Furyk is also +4 after ten.

4.04: Already out on the course, Phil Mickelson is +1 after four holes to lie on +5, while Miguel Angel Jiminez is in the same boat. Luke Donald, who played so well the first day and then posted a 77 yesterday, is +1 after 6 to also lie on +5.

4.03: Harrington steps out with young Ross Fisher at 7.22pm.

4.02: Tiger begins his round at 7.40pm this evening, playing alongside former champion Vijay Singh, who has also rediscovered his form of late.

4.00: Good afternoon golf fans, welcome to moving day at Hazeltine, where there's going to have to be some pretty serious moving to haul in the rampant Tiger, who starts the day four clear of his rivals, who include the resurgent Padraig Harrington.