Reuters
Saturday, May 27

DUBLIN, Ohio -- The course that Jack built is becoming Tiger's turf.

Tiger Woods manhandled Muirfield Village for a 7-under 65 on Saturday that gave him a six-stroke lead in the Memorial Tournament and brought on a chorus of concessions from the players he left in his wake.

"Oh, come on guys," said Ernie Els, told that Woods lost a three-stroke lead in the final round last week in Germany. "Don't even try. He's six or seven shots ahead. What can I say? It's over."

Woods made his first bogey in 48 holes on No. 18, but still was at 17-under 199 and has plenty room for error against Steve Lowery as he tries to become the first repeat champion in the 25-year history of the Memorial.

Lowery birdied the 18th for his second straight 66. That left him at 205 and in the final pairing Sunday, when he will spot the No. 1 player in the world six shots on a course that Woods has reduced to a pitch-and-putt.

"I'd have to bet on Tiger," Lowery said.

The six-stroke lead is largest on the PGA Tour this year, and the most for Woods since he took a nine-stroke lead into the 1997 Masters and won by 12. Woods, however, was not quite ready to accept his fourth victory of the year.

"If it were over, there would be a trophy," he said.

A victory Sunday would be the first time Woods has successfully defended a title.

Justin Leonard, made an ace on No. 8 and had a 66. It was as good as Leonard has felt about his results all year, and the fact he was seven strokes behind was not about to spoil his mood.

The same can't be said for Harrison Frazar, who started the third round just one stroke behind Woods, and Els, trying to win for the first time in over a year.

By the time they walked off the seventh green, Woods had a 10-stroke advantage over Els and was six ahead of Frazar. Both got caught up watching an awesome display of golf that featured a six-hole stretch in which Woods was 6 under.

"He hit shots today that I don't know if any other human can hit," said Frazar, who had a 43 on the back nine and wound up with a 78. "He's the best player in the world. It's been a long time since I've played with him, and now I know why."

Woods, who said he "got around" for a 63 on Friday, actually hit the ball much more crisply on Saturday, when players could lift, clean and place their ball in the fairway because of overnight rains and a light drizzle late in the round.

For a while, there were whispers of a 59 in the gallery, and for good reason.

After a couple of short birdie putts on Nos. 3 and 4, Woods narrowly missed a 40-foot eagle putt, then hit a shot that left Frazar shaking his head. From a slightly downhill lie, 238 yards to carry a bunker on the par-5 seventh, Woods hit a 3-iron that grazed the cup and stopped 20 feet away.

"A heel-pull," Woods said.

He was trying to hit the middle of the green, but instead the ball swung left toward the flag. Oh, well.

He then hit 7-iron to 10 inches on the par-3 8th for a tap-in birdie, reducing Els and Frazar to a role of bystander.

"It's not that he was 6 under over six holes," Frazar said. "It was how he was doing it."

Woods said the thought of a 59 never entered his head. He just wanted to birdie the next hole, and gave himself a chance at that. Still, when his 10-foot birdie putt on No. 9 just turned off at the left, Woods swung his putter and winced.

Similarly, he fells to his knees when an 18-footer for eagle on No. 11 and a 20-footer for birdie on No. 12 curled over the lip.

"I hit the ball much better than I did yesterday," Woods said. "I just didn't make as many putts." His rounds of 63-65 broke by three strokes the Memorial record for best score in consecutive rounds.

Canadian Mike Weir had a 68 and was at 207, while the group at 209 included Els (72), Masters champion Vijay Singh (68) and Hal Sutton (67).

"The amazement has gone away," Leonard said of Woods. "I don't think we're as surprised as maybe we would have been two or three years ago."

By the time Sutton finished his round, someone in the gallery shouted, "Nice round." Sutton looked over his shoulder at the leaderboard and shook his head.

"Yeah," he said. "But we're getting farther behind."

That's not a good place to be at Muirfield Village, which Jack Nicklaus built in 1974. The tournament host had a 72 and was at 220, while 31-year-old son Gary wasted a good chance in easy conditions for a 74 that left 15 strokes out of the lead.

Woods was 5 under on the par 5s, and had eagle putts on three of them. While Els hit a low iron into the creek on No. 11, Woods was able to get a 5-iron up over the trees to land it softly 18 feet behind the cup.

"He's just awesome, man," Els said. "That's the way he plays. That's where he's got an advantage on the rest of the field, hitting those kind of shots. He played the par 5s just unbelievable today."