Harrington closes in on Woods

Padraig Harrington turned the US PGA Championship into a contest again but a bogey at the last left Tiger Woods with a two-shot lead heading into Sunday's final round at Hazeltine National.

Woods got his third round under way at seven under par in Minnesota in the knowledge he had not lost the eight major championships he had led at the halfway stage and with a four-shot overnight lead the world number one had threatened to turn the final major of the year into a procession.

Defending champion Harrington had reeled in Woods' lead as the final groups neared the clubhouse, but having been caught, the 14-time major winner was sparked out of a nine-hole run of pars with a birdie at the 14th.

Then Harrington bogeyed the 18th for a third-round, three-under-par 69 and Woods returned to grind mode and parred his way home for a one-under 71, at eight under a stroke ahead of the Irishman and South Korea's YE Yang, his 67 the low score of the day.

Henrik Stenson of Sweden and US Open champion Lucas Glover will start the final round at four under after rounds of 68 and 71 respectively with Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen and Ernie Els of South Africa at three under, both having shot 70s.

'I was just trying to be very patient out there,' Woods said.

'The golf was playing a little more difficult and I had the lead so I played conservatively.

'I didn't give myself a lot of looks and the one putt I missed was the three-putt (at the fourth) so other than that it was a really good, solid day.'

Harrington was left a little deflated after his closing bogey.

'It was a little disappointing,' he said.

'Sometimes when you get off to a shaky start and make a few pars you do feel better for it.

'Then I did start playing well and I holed a few putts and I was feeling good about things.

'Then at the end I got a flyer out of the rough and it was a disappointing way to finish.'

Harrington had started the day as part of a five-man group four shots behind Woods that also included Glover, England's Ross Fisher, Australian Brendan Jones and two-time winner Vijay Singh.

Glover birdied the par-four second to close the gap before 14-time major winner Woods, chasing a third victory in as many weeks and his sixth of the year, also birdied the hole to return his lead to four shots.

It was short-lived, though, as Woods bogeyed the first par-three at the fourth and Lee Westwood moved within three after birdies at the second and seventh, only to then double bogey the par-three eighth and fall back to two under.

Yang also got to four under having started at one under and Harrington was the next to get there, the Irishman sinking a birdie at the seventh, putting from eight feet and then another at the eighth, from 18 feet, to move to five under.

Glover joined Harrington with a birdie at the seventh and Singh, having bogeyed the sixth, made his first move in the right direction with an eagle three on the seventh, chipping in from the fringe as Woods worked hard to save par for the third hole in a row.

Glover misfired for the first time at the 10th, short-siding himself in a greenside bunker and taking bogey to go to four under as Els chipped in for birdie at the 12th to take his place at five under, while playing partner Kjeldsen bogeyed to slip to four under.

Harrington continued his pursuit of Woods, a 10-foot birdie putt at the 11th cutting Woods' lead to one stroke.

Having saved par brilliantly at the par-three 13th after sticking his tee shot into greenside rough, Harrington tied the lead at seven under with Woods with a birdie at the 14th, putting from 12 feet.

Els, like Harrington a three-time major winner, moved to six under at the par-five 15th as did Yang with a birdie at the par-four 16th.

Els, though, finished poorly, three bogeys in a row while Kjeldsen finished bogey, par, bogey.

Fisher, playing with Harrington, bogeyed the third and the fifth holes before his first birdie of the day came at the seventh. Another bogey at the 10th followed but the Englishman rebounded with birdies at 15 and 16 only to bogey the last for a 73, two under for the week.

Spain's Alvaro Quiros made amends for a second-round 76 with a second 69 of the week to return to two under par while Germany's Martin Kaymer joined him after a 71.

Westwood finished with a one-over 73 at one under alongside Rory McIlroy, while Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, who had led the tournament during the second round but fallen away for a 75, bounced back with a third-round 71, level par for the week, alongside Singh, who was playing with Woods and shot a 75.