Jim Furyk takes a three-shot lead into the final round of the US Open in Illinois after he ended the third round 10-under for the championship. Chasing him is Australian Stephen Leaney, playing in only his second US Open. The 34-year-old carded a two-under 68 thanks to a birdie on 18 to put himself seven-under.
Leaney got off to the perfect start by going out in three-under 33 to get himself to eight-under for the championship but a double-bogey at the 10th brought him to rapid halt. A bogey at 11 and suddenly the Australian was only one-under for the day. But the Aussie got back on track when he birdied the 15th and then the 18th.
Nick Price was five back with Vijay Singh, who had started the day as joint leader with Furyk on seven-under. Furyk became sole leader when he carded a three-under 67. When he moved to 10-under he became only the third player in US Open history to reach double figures under par. Only Gil Morgan in 1992 and Tiger Woods in 2000 ever managed to get 10-under or better.
Furyk began with four straight pars before reeling off two straight birdies and then adding a third on the ninth. Although he gave one back at the 10th he got it back to 10-under again with a curling putt on the 187-yard par three 15th. Another dropped shot at 17, where he put his second over the back of the green, still left him firmly in the lead.
Price threatened to run away from the pack when he reeled off four straight birdies and by the time he reached the sixth he was five-under for his round. But five bogeys over the next ten holes brought the former PGA and British Open champion to a grinding halt as he struggled to simply make par. A birdie on the last gave Price a one-under 69 for the day, still in touch with Furyk.
Defending champion Tiger Woods saw his hopes quickly fading in the bright sunshine that bathed Olympia Field for the first time since the tournament began. Two dropped shots going out and another bogey on the 10th saw the 27-year-old world number one fall to one-under for the championship and going further and further away from the leaders. A dispirited Woods finaly ended the day with a five-over 75 and virtually out of the championship. Woods said he had been killed by his putter. "I made nothing today," he said. "It was unbelieveable how slow the greens were today.They looked fast but they played slow and that's a hard combination. I never got a feel for the line."
It was a bitter-sweet tale of two halves for Singh. He went out in 34 and was only one behind Furyk, but it all went wrong on the march home. Singh had four bogeys, including three straight on his last three holes to finish the day with a two-over 72.
Former British Open champion Justin Leonard began well, picking up two shots in the first four holes to go to six-under but then a slew of bogeys derailed him, sending him to two-over for the day and eight shots adrift of the lead.
Canada's Mike Weir, who became a national hero when he won the Masters, forced himself into contention when he was at four-under through 15. The left-hander, who began the day at level, went out in 32. But two bogeys over the closing holes dropped him back to two-under and left him a mountain to climb.
Colin Montgomerie dropped to four-over after he carded a third round one-over 71. "Same as most days - I'm just not very good right now," said Montgomerie. "Missing two cuts in a row was not the best preparation to say the least, and my objective on the plane over was to play all four rounds. I fulfilled that - just."
Darren Clarke stands one over alongside Woods. The Dungannon man did reach three under, but after failing to sustain that and bogeying the last two holes he said: "You can't get it done with 34 putts. I didn't play as well as the first two days, but I gave myself more chances - very strange. But I didn't make anything and I think tomorrow I will close my eyes and hit it. I had my opportunities to be right in the thick of things. I ought to be an awful lot better than I am, but once again I have not taken the chances I have made."
Ireland's Padrig Harrington picked up a shot in his third round when he mixed three birdies with two bogeys to cover the outward nine one-under. It put the Dubliner at level par for the tournament, but in the end he finished with a disappointing two-over 72 and is now three-over overall. Harrington commented: "I needed to put in a very good one and didn't do that, so I'm just playing for my pride tomorrow."
Filed by James Boylan
