OAKMONT—Aaron Baddeley escaped with an amazing par from deep rough at the base of a bunker on the 17th hole, finished strong with a birdie for an even-par 70 and wound up with a two-shot lead over Woods after three rounds of the US Open yesterday.
The Australian who was beating world-class players as an amateur now faces the biggest test of his career.
Woods was nearly perfect from tee-to-green, hitting every green in regulation until he had to lay up from the rough on the 18th hole and took his only bogey for a 69, one of only two rounds under par even though Oakmont Country Club’s fearsome greens showed a softer side.
Woods, who has never won a major when trailing going into the final round, will be playing in the last group at a major for the second time this year. He was one shot behind at the Masters and tied for second.
“I’ve been there before, and I know what it takes,” Woods said.
Paul Casey shot a 72 and was at 5-over 215 with Stephen Ames (73), Justin Rose (73) and Bubba Watson (75), who made a triple bogey from the left side of the ninth green but steadied himself with pars and a lone bogey the rest of the way.
The other subpar round belonged to Steve Stricker, who holed out from 74 yards for birdie on the 18th hole for a 68 to give himself a chance at 6-over 216, tied with former champion Jim Furyk (70) and 36-hole leader Angel Cabrera, who slowly lost ground until he chopped his way to a bogey-bogey finish for a 76.
Baddeley won the Australian Open as an 18-year-old amateur in 1999 by holding off Greg Norman and Colin Montgomerie, saying then that his goal was to become better than Woods. He won the Australian Open a year later as a pro, but found detours in America, struggling to get his card and picking up his first US tour victory only last year.
But he showed impressive poise on an Oakmont course that played tamer with accessible hole locations and greens that had been watered three times since Friday afternoon.
As the leaders began to lose ground, Baddeley surged ahead. He made three birdies in a four-hole stretch, culminating with a 6-foot putt on the 13th hole that stretched his lead to three. (AP)
