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There was a steady breeze around the Oak Hill Country Club, and the sun shone in all its brilliance, giving the golfers an almost perfect setting for the third round battle.
The lead changed hands steadily through the day, before settling in the bag of an American veteran. Jim Furyk brought his experience to the table, surviving the weather in Rochester to snatch a one stroke lead with a final flourish.
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A fantastic finish under exacting circumstances helped Furyk gain a one stroke advantage over Jason Dufner, the overnight leader. Swedes Henrik Stenson and Jonas Blixt were right on their heels, setting the stage for a thrilling finish on Sunday.
The 43-year-old Furyk shot a 68 to edge ahead of Dufner, who failed to follow through on his spectacular 63 on Friday. Dufner had an up and down round that ended yielding him a disappointing 71.
After a lengthy putt for birdie on the 17th hole, Furyk survived a miserable drive and another longish putt to save par and retire to the clubhouse with the lead in his pocket.
Furyk had missed the cut at both the US Open and the Open last month, but has enjoyed a resurgent week at New York amidst rising hopes of a first tour victory since 2010. But Furyk will only be too aware of the fact that he let things slip away on the final day. The American had the 54 hole lead at the US Open last year, only to lose control on the final day.
Two men made big moves on Saturday – Kevin Streelman rode a 66 to climb 41 places and Dustin Johnson flew in on a 65 to leapfrog 51 places as they reached two under through three rounds. With the overall lead seven strokes away, victory might be a bridge too far but a place in the top ten should be theirs to take on Sunday.
Henrik Stenson, runner-up at the Open recently, forced himself into the chatter with a 69, just two off the pace. The big surprise on the day though came in the form of Jonas Blixt, a 29-year-old Swede. At the 18th hole, Blixt drove straight into a spectator, lodging the ball in the back pocket of Muhammad Khokhar.
The inconvenient landing earned Blixt a free drop and the Swede drove maximum advantage to reach within three feet of the difficult pin. Blixt made birdie at the difficult par-4 18th to card a 64 that helped him to six under and into fourth place.
Tiger Woods had another forgettable day at the office, a three over 73 slipping to four over and certainly out of contention. Phil Mickelson joined Woods on the sidelines with an even more miserable 78. Mickelson had a litany of bogies on his card including a triple at the 7th hole to finish ten over, lying 74th among 75 players who made the cut.
Scores:
-9: J Furyk (US)
-8: J Dufner (US)
-7: H Stenson (Swe)
-6: J Blizxt (Swe)
-5 : S Stricker (US), A Scott (Aus)
-3: L Westwood (Eng), R McIlroy (NI)
Selected:
+4: T Woods (US)
+10: P Mickelson (US)
