TIGER IN THE MIX BUT CHARLIE WI LEADS BY THREE STROKES

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
PEBBLE BEACH, California -- Coming off an early bogey that put him eight shots behind, Tiger Woods was in a bunker to the left of the 13th fairway at Pebble Beach when he cut a 9-iron too much, sending it right of the green toward deep rough.
The ball caromed off a mound and onto the green and started rolling. And rolling. When it finally settled a foot below the hole, and the gallery's cheers grew increasingly louder, Woods hung his head and smiled.
He went from possible bogey to unlikely birdie.
And with five birdies in a six-hole stretch, he went from the periphery of contention to the thick of it Saturday in the AT and T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, another step toward showing his game is on the way back.
"Looked like I was having a tough time making par. Instead I make birdie, and off we go," Woods said. "Sometimes, we need those types of momentum swings in a round, and from there, I made some putts."
If nothing else, he made it interesting going into the final round of his US PGA Tour season debut.
Charlie Wi played bogey-free at Spyglass Hill for a 3-under 69 to build a three-shot lead over Ken Duke, who had a 65 on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula.
Woods had a 5-under 67, his best Saturday score on the US PGA Tour since the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and climbed within four shots of the lead. It's the closest he has been to a 54-hole leader on the US Tour since the 2010 Masters.
Saturday at Pebble is all about the stars, as CBS Sports traditionally devotes its coverage to celebrities, from Ray Romano to Bill Murray dressed in camouflage while throwing a football to former San Francisco 49ers lineman Harris Barton.
Sunday will have some star power of its own.
Not only is Woods in the penultimate group -- right in front of two players who have never won on the US PGA Tour -- he will be in the same group as long time rival Phil Mickelson, who had a 70 at Pebble Beach despite playing the par 5s in one over par.
Still in the mix is two-time Pebble Beach champion Dustin Johnson, former world No. 1 Vijay Singh and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, who was two shots off the lead at one point until a sloppy finish at Spyglass for a 72.
Wi is 0-for-162 on the US PGA Tour and now has to face his demons of self-doubt -- along with a familiar force in golf.
Woods couldn't convert a share of the third-round lead with Robert Rock two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, but he is showing an upward trend. He has given himself a chance to win on the back nine of his last four stroke-play tournaments.
With a new swing, it's starting to look like the old Tiger.
"But the scenario doesn't change," Woods said. "The ultimate goal is to win a golf tournament."
That's something Wi has never done. He was at 15-under 199, and he has a 54-hole lead for only the second time on Tour. He had a one-shot lead at Colonial last year and was runner-up to David Toms.
This time, Wi will be in the last group with someone in a familiar spot. Duke is winless in 142 starts.
The last two weeks haven't been too kind to 54-hole leaders, either. Kyle Stanley lost a five-shot lead at Torrey Pines, and Spencer Levin blew a six-shot lead the following week in the Phoenix Open. Both were going for their first US PGA Tour win.
Your turn, Charlie.
"I haven't really thought about that," Wi said, when asked if it were a blessing or a burden to be in front. "But I enjoy being in the lead. It's a lot more fun than trying to come from behind. I know that tonight is going to be very exciting, and I'm sure I won't sleep as well as if I'm in 50th place. But that's what we play for, and I'm really excited."
Woods was at 11-under 203, having lost some momentum on the front nine at Pebble by missing a few fairways and hitting some ordinary wedge shots. He closed with seven pars.
Mickelson was at 9-under 205, along with Johnson and Hunter Mahan. Harrington was at 206, while another stroke back were Singh and Geoff Ogilvy.
Wi is No. 175 in the world, while Duke is at No. 258. They have combined for 304 starts without a win. Right behind them are Woods and Mickelson, who have combined for 18 majors and 110 US PGA Tour wins.
"It's really fun, especially when the big guys are up there," Duke said. "That's when everyone is out there watching. If you do perform well and play well, they will be watching you, as well. It's going to be fun."
With a short burst of birdies, it looked as though Woods was having a blast.
He rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt on the 14th, and then had a 25-foot putt up the slope on the 15th. One of the amateurs in his group had a similar putt, so Woods was able to look at the break. He learned well, extending his left arm as he often does before the putt drops. And it did.
Woods made good birdie putts from 20 feet on the 17th and 8 feet on the 18th, where he also got a small break. Not wanting to hit driver in the first place because he couldn't reach in two, he came out of the shot. It looked like it might go out-of-bounds until it hit a CBS spotter and settled behind the bunkers.
Woods made an easy birdie on the par-5 second, but that was it. He had to save par on the short par-4 fourth from a bunker, and didn't give himself enough good looks the rest of the way.
No matter. He moved up the leaderboard, higher than he has been in some time on this tour.
Woods played in the final group two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, tied for the lead with Rock, and he had his poorest day striking the ball and finished in a tie for third. Woods played in the final group at his Chevron World Challenge at the end of last year and birdied the last two holes to beat Zach Johnson.
Woods doesn't distinguish between tours, or even official events. Winning is winning. Losing is losing. All he sees at the moment is progress, and it's hard to deny it.
"My bad days and bad shots are not as bad as they used to be," Woods said.
Wi is making his own brand of progress, getting more comfortable with his swing and being in contention. He talks often about the demons in his head, which is typical of most any golfer.
"I'm sure I'll be fighting my demons all day tomorrow and it's how I handle myself tomorrow," Wi said. "It's not what other players are doing. How I handle myself tomorrow is going to be the outcome of the tournament."
DIVOTS: Joseph Bramlett, playing on a sponsor's exemption, made an albatross on the 11th hole at Spyglass when he holed out from 187 yards with a 6-iron. He negated that with two double bogeys and shot 73.
Among the amateurs to make the cut were Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who is playing Pebble Beach for the first time.
the most recent of his four runner-up finishes.
SCOTSWATCH: Martin Laird (73-214) and Russell Knox (76-215) both missed the cut, Laird by one, Knox by two. Knox has yet to make a cut this season.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 214
Players from US unless stated
199 Charlie Wi (S Korea) 61 69 69.
202 Ken Duke 64 73 65.
203 Tiger Woods 68 68 67.
205 Phil Mickelson 70 65 70, Kevin Na 66 69 70, Dustin Johnson 63 72 70, Brendon Todd 67 69 69, Hunter Mahan 65 70 70.

SELECTED SCORES
206 Padriaig Harrington (Ireland) 68 66 72 (T9).
207 Greg Owen (Ireland) 68 67 72 (T12).
212 Gary Christian (England) 72 70 70, Brian Davis (England) 70 74 68 (T45).
213 Ian Poulter (England) 69 72 72.

MISS THE THIRD-ROUND CUT (213 or better qualified)
214 Martin Laird (Scotland) 70 71 73.
215 Russell Knox (Scotland) 68 71 76.

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WESTWOOD TAKES UP THE RUNNING IN DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Lee Westwood stormed to the top of a congested leaderboard on day three of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic as Rory McIlroy and Thomas Björn faltered.
After finishing his second-round 65 with three straight birdies, World No 3 Westwood, pictured, picked up shots on three of his first four holes today en route to a 67 that lifted him to 15 under.
Germany’s Marcel Siem and Scot Stephen Gallacher - Westwood’s playing partners - were a solitary shot adrift, having each carded 68, along with Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who birdied 18 for a 70.
However, joint overnight leaders McIlroy and Björn could only muster rounds of 72 and 73 respectively.
Björn, who had held a two-stroke advantage after picking up his third birdie of the day at the tenth, finished poorly with bogeys at 15, 16 and 18, but McIlroy - the winner of this event in 2009 - birdied the closing par-5 to end an erratic round on a high.
The Ulsterman was joined on 13 under by Martin Kaymer, Scott Jamieson and Joel Sjöholm, the latter’s faultless 66 representing the lowest third-round score.
Former Open champion Ben Curtis, whose 67 included an eagle at 13, and George Coetzee were alongside Björn in a tie for ninth.
A satisfied Westwood said: “I played nicely again. Very solid. I got off to a very good start, three under after four, rolled the ball well on the greens and hit a lot of good quality iron shots.
“It was a little bit tougher today, with a tad more breeze up and I guess a few tighter flags. But I coped fairly well with that and 67 is probably about the worst it could have been.”
The Englishman admitted he will enter tomorrow’s final round, which is expected to be made more challenging by high winds, in confident mood.
"I know how to play with the lead,” he added. “What did I win, four times last year? When I get a chance, I'm pretty good at finishing off. I've won 37 times. You know, that's not somebody that's not good with a lead.
“It's a habit. You get used to it. You get used to knowing what to do; when to press, when not to press, when to be patient.
“I’m hitting the ball well. Whatever happens with the weather happens and you just have to contend with it. Whoever plays best will win.”
After struggling to recapture the sparkling form he displayed throughout the first two rounds, McIlroy acknowledged he had room for improvement ahead of Sunday’s play.
“It was pretty ragged to say the least,” he admitted. “I think the conditions were a little tougher, the wind got up, and I had not really played in wind like that all week, so that sort of put me off a little bit, and the greens got a little firmer, pin positions were a little tougher.
“It definitely didn't come as easy to me as it did the first couple of days. I’m going to go to the range and work on a few things, and see if I can iron it out for tomorrow.”
Sjöholm went round in six under for the second day in succession, but revealed he had been considerably happier with his performance in round three.
“I pulled something out of my hat yesterday. Today I played better golf from tee to green and made some good putts out there,” said the Swede, who is chasing a maiden European Tour victory.
“My putting has been really good this week. It was quite bad actually on the first day, but great yesterday and great today. I’m just hoping that tomorrow is going to be one of my great putting days.”

THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72)
201 Lee Westwood (England) 69 65 67
202 Stephen Gallacher (Scotland) 69 65 68, Marcel Siem (Germany) 65 69 68, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spain) 63 69 70.
203 Joel Sjoholm (Sweden) 71 66 66, Scott Jamieson (Scotland) 65 68 70, Martin Kaymer (Germany) 66 67 70, Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) 66 65 72.
204 Ben Curtis (US) 70 67 67, George Coetzee (S Africa) 69 66 69, Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 66 65 73.
OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
210 Paul Lawrie 71 70 69 (T29).
211 David Drysdale70 70 71 (T35).
213 Richie Ramsay 69 71 73 (T52).
217 Colin Montgomerie 71 69 77 (T76)


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CLARE AND ORRIN BOUND FOR SOUTH AFRICAN JUNIOR EVENT

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Jamie Clare (Burnham and Berrow, Somerset), runner-up in last year’s English amateur championship, and Max Orrin (North Foreland, Kent) will represent England Golf in the KeNako South African World Juniors at Kingswood Golf Club in George from March 6 to 8.
The event, which also embraces a girls' competition, is played over 54 holes of stroke play and is part of the World Junior Golf Series.
Clare, 17, spent some of his younger years in Portugal where he won a number of Portuguese Federation junior competitions. He is a former Sussex under 15 champion when a member of East Sussex National and last year’s South West Schools Champion.
But he took everyone’s attention last July when he battled through to the 36-hole final of the English Amateur at Woburn only to lose 7 and 5 to international Steven Brown. Clare was capped by England at under 16 level and is a member of the England boys’ Squad as is Orrin, 17, who was an under 16 team-mate of Clare.
Orrin made his debut as a boy cap in last year’s European Boys Team Championships in the Czech Republic and also played in the Boys Home Internationals.
A former South of England Boys champion, he finished runner-up in the 2010 English under 16 Championship for the McGregor Trophy at Prince’s, while last year he won the Andulucia Junior Open, was second in the Darwin Salver and third in the Fairhaven Trophy and the South East Junior Championship.

THINGS GO FROM BAD TO WORSE FOR JAMES BYRNE WITH AN 82

Things went from bad to worse for James Byrne in the third round of the Philippine Open.
His scores have plunged downward from a brighting opening day of two-under-70 to 80 in Round 2 and 82 today. His total if 232 (16 over par) and he is in joint 76th position.
The Banchory man had halves of 42-40 with only one birdie to set against a pair of double bogey 6s and a pile of bogeys.
Walker Cup man Byrne is a far better player than these scores suggest. He could be suffering a confidence-crisis.
Chin up, James!

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ASIAN TOUR
Manila, February 11: Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat rode a hot putter to hold a slender one-shot lead over a fast-charging Filipino teenager Miguel Tabuena after the third round of the ICTSI Philippine Open today.
Mardan, chasing a third Asian Tour victory, holed several huge par saves en route to a battling two-under-par 70 at a windswept Wack Wack Golf and Country Club’s East course to lead on seven-under-par 209 in Asia’s oldest national Open.
His overnight three-shot lead was reduced by Tabuena’s brilliant course record-equaling 67 while Korea’s Mo Joong-kyung fired a 68 to trail by two on 211 with only the top-three players breaking par after 54 holes.
Earlier, Hwang Inn-choon of Korea established a new course record 67 following the East course’s renovation last year to move to tied fourth place on level par for the US$300,000 Asian Tour tournament alongside American Ben Fox, who returned a 74.
The 44-year-old Mardan, winless since 2006, didn’t swing it as smoothly as Friday’s second round but his putter came through as he carded four birdies against two bogeys to set up an intriguing battle of the ages with local favourite and 17-year-old Tabuena. Mardan produced huge par saves on eight, nine and 12 to that kept his round going.
“I was struggling with my irons and hit a lot of fliers. But I holed a lot of putts. The putt on number eight was unbelievable. Yesterday, I hit the ball good but didn’t putt it good. Today, I didn’t hit it good but putted good. It comes and goes. Hopefully both will come together tomorrow,” said Mardan, who hit only eight greens in regulation but was aided by requiring 23 putts in his round.
“You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. As I said, this course can make you happy and it can make you angry. Both of them (Tabuena and Mo) shot a 67 and 68, I think that’s a good round with the winds. Hopefully it’ll be my turn tomorrow to shoot that number.
“It’ll be the first time I’ll play with Miguel. He’s a good potential. He’s got a good swing and good guidance from Rick Gibson (his coach). He’s certainly an upcoming Asian player,” added Mardan.
The tenacious Tabuena closed the gap on Mardan with a glorious start, sinking four birdies in his opening six holes. He notched three more birdies against two bogeys to set up what would be the biggest day of his young golfing life just yet.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow. It wasn’t easy. I just told myself to stay patient and hit fairways and greens and it worked. I started out quick. It is really hard to make mistakes when you’re in a zone. It was fun. It was really hard to make mistakes,” said Tabuena, who is bidding to become the third youngest winner on the Asian Tour.
With a contingent of 20 family members, and coach Gibson who also made the cut, in the gallery, Tabuena showed no fear despite his lack of experience. He said he would go all-out to win the ICTSI Philippine Open on Sunday.
“Just play the same way that I’ve been playing and hopefully I will come out on top. There was a lot of pressure especially when you’re playing on home soil. I’m happy I coped with it,” he said.
“I’ve got nothing to lose. I just want to go out there and have some fun. It’ll mean everything (if I can win). I’ve been dreaming about winning this tournament for a long time. I just kept telling myself that I can win the Philippine Open,” he added.
Like Mardan, Mo is also chasing a third Asian Tour victory and he stayed in contention with a five-birdie round. “Not bad going into the last round,” said the South Korean.
“The winds started to blow really hard on a few holes and it was pretty tough. The front nine, you could make a few birdies as some holes are short but the back nine is pretty tough. I think I played what I wanted.
“It was fun watching Miguel. It’s pretty good for a 17-year-old. He’s a good putter and very determined at what he wants to do. It was fun to watch.”

THIRD-ROUND SCORES
Par 216 (3x72) Yardage: 7,222. Wack Wack GCC course
209 Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 69-70-70.
210 Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 71-72-67.
211 MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 72-71-68.
216 HWANG Inn-choon (KOR) 77-72-67, Ben FOX (USA) 69-73-74.
217 Azuma YANO (JPN) 69-75-73, Paul DONAHOO (AUS) 71-72-74.
218 Berry HENSON (USA) 73-73-72, KIM Gi-whan (KOR) 71-75-72, Marcus BOTH (AUS) 72-72-74, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 70-74-74, Mars PUCAY (PHI) 70-74-74, Danny CHIA (MAS) 75-69-74, Adam BLYTH (AUS) 73-70-75, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 71-71-76.
219 Pasamet POGAMNERD (THA) 74-75-70, Joonas GRANBERG (FIN) 72-74-73, Wade ORMSBY (AUS) 70-76-73, Rahil GANGJEE (IND) 75-70-74, Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 73-72-74, Anthony KANG (USA) 69-75-75, Sam CYR (USA) 71-72-76.

COREY PAVIN LEADS BY TWO ON US SENIORS TOUR

FROM THE US CHAMPIONS' TOUR WEBSITE
BOCA RATON, Florida (AP) -- Corey Pavin shot an eight-under 64 on Friday to take a two-shot lead over Fred Funk, Bernhard Langer and Peter Senior after the first round of the Allianz Championship.
Pavin, winless in 34 career starts in the Champions Tour, had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch to shoot a back-nine 29 at Broken Sound Golf Club.
He won 15 times on the US PGA Tour, including the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, and set the nine-hole scoring record of eight-under in the 2006 U.S. Bank Championship at Brown Deer Park.
"I don't usually shoot a lot of low scores, so it's kind of strange," Pavin said. "When I get in those situations, I really try to focus without thinking of too much of what I'm doing. When you start thinking about how many birdies you're making, you tend to mess up."
He had two second-place finishes last season.
"I think it's harder to win out here than on the US PGA Tour, because almost all of these guys have won lots of tournaments and they know how to win," Pavin said.
Funk made his first start on the 50-and-over tour since July. He had a pair of thumb operations, eventually having a tendon in his left thumb fused last November. He had to grip a club in the operating room so the surgeon could make sure the thumb was fused in the proper position.
"That was a big ordeal," Funk said. "I'm just happy to have a career again."
Langer won the 2010 tournament on his way to Player of the Year honours and the Boca Raton resident serves as the unofficial host of the event. Friday night, he had more than 80 players and family members come to his house for dinner.
"This is like a home tournament for me," Langer said.
Senior held a one-shot lead going into the final round last year in the event, but faded to 17th after a 77. Senior, like Pavin, is winless on the Champions Tour. The Australian came close last year with a trio of second-place finishes, including two playoff losses.
"The only goal I have this year is I want to win," Senior said. "I probably had three or four chances to win last year, but never produced the goods coming down the stretch. It would be nice to get that out of the way."
The first full-field event of the year started in steady rain and the sun finally broke through in the afternoon.
Mark Calcavecchia, riding a streak of 11 top-10 finishes, was a stroke back along with Chip Beck, Mark Brooks and John Huston. Joey Sindelar was at 68 along with Jay Haas, Bill Glasson, David Frost, Brad Faxon and Mike Goodes.
Defending champion Tom Lehman opened with a 71. Dan Forsman, the winner of the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Hawaii on Jan. 22, had a 72.

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