They waited for the roars that never came, the red numbers that were never posted. They waited for the Moving Day charge that would make the rest of the field develop nervous tics. They waited for Tiger to be Tiger.

Instead they got Woods Lite, a respectable 1-under-par 69 that would have come in handy Thursday and Friday. But you don't get do-overs at the U.S. Open, which means he's stuck in the black, 4-over for the tournament and in need of a XXL miracle in Sunday's final round. A retirement-age score would be nice, something in the low 60s. It'd also help if Retief Goosen, Stewart Cink and Rocco Mediate caught their hands in the courtesy car doors, or if Sergio Garcia developed a work visa problem, or if someone reminded Phil Mickelson of his standing as The Best Golfer Never To Have Won a Major (0-35). He loves to hear that.

Woods needs help. Lots of it. He has lowered his score each day, but something has to give for him to make a serious run at a fifth consecutive major championship. Goosen doesn't look like he's going to throw up over himself. He topped his drive on No. 3 and was so unnerved that he birdied the hole. Then he yakked his tee shot on the par-3 11th and calmly putted it from the collection area to gimme range. Mickelson has freaked out in the past, but one of these days he's going to figure it out, right? And anyone who thinks Garcia is intimidated by Tiger didn't get the video of the 1999 PGA Championship.

As usual Woods will wear his traditional Sunday victory red. That's the way he thinks: no deficit is too large, no cause too lost. "You guys know me pretty good," he said after the third round. "I don't dog it. I give it everything I have and no regrets."

By his own calculations he could have shot a 65, maybe a 64 Saturday. His putts left burn marks on a handful of cups and he quit renting space in the rough. There were still a few anger management moments, but nothing serious. Woods has grinded to wins in the past, now he has to grind his way onto the leaderboard. Don't look for too many lay-up shots. Safe will be a four-letter word to him come Sunday.

"I'm not that far behind, only eight back," he said. "In a U.S. Open that's not really as much as you might think. If I was playing in the Bob Hope, eight back -- you're not looking too good. But. . . if I go out there and play a good, solid round tomorrow, you never know."

Wishful thinking or psyche job? Woods became a historian Saturday, invoking the names of Paul Lawrie and Johnny Miller. Lawrie came from 10 strokes back to win the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie. Miller threw a little 63 at the board during his U.S. Open win at Oakmont in 1973.

Anybody that's within 10 shots of the lead can still win the tournament," Woods said.

It sounds nice. Best of all, it sounds possible. After all, it's Tiger.

Gene Wojciechowski is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at gene.wojciechowski@espnmag.com.