Sun 06 Jun 2007Baddeley has Woods to contend withAustralian Aaron Baddeley burst out of a four-way tie yesterday
to grab a two-stroke lead over Tiger Woods going into the final
round of the US Open at Oakmont.The 26-year-old Baddeley made back-to-back birdies from the 12th
to seize the lead, then bounced back from bogeys at 15 and 16 with
a birdie at the last to post a level-par 70 and a two-over-par 212
total.
Woods, playing a near-perfect round from tee to green, took
five on the 484-yard 18th for his only bogey in a rock steady round
of one-under-par 69 to stand at four-over 214.
"You always dream of playing in majors and having a chance to
win going into Sunday," Baddeley told reporters. "I can only focus
on what I'm doing. Today I felt really calm out there and peaceful.
My game felt nice. I wasn't trying to press or do anything
special."
Officials watered the hard, sloping greens before the start
and the demanding Oakmont course played two shots easier than it
had on Friday, with the average score 74.68 on Saturday.
Conditions allowed players to shoot more aggressively to the
greens and the flow of birdies and bogeys made for a see-saw
struggle on the leaderboard.
Second-round leader Angel Cabrera of Argentina and American
Bubba Watson duelled early in the round, with Woods among a pack of
players tight on their heels before Baddeley surged ahead.
After missing the cut in his two previous Opens, Baddeley
said he was excited about playing in the last group with Woods as
he goes for his first major.
"It's perfect, it's exciting," he said. "He's the best player
in the world but I feel like I'm playing nicely."