Associated Press

St Andrews, July 17:

Tiger Woods reached into the prickly gorse twice to retrieve his ball and take a penalty. He hung his head when a flop shot sailed from one end of the 16th green to the other. He dropped to his knees and flipped his putter like a baton. The only reward for Woods was all that mattered — his name atop the leaderboard. He had to work hard for that, saving par with a 15-footer on the Road Hole, then rolling a 150-foot putt across the 18th green to within of the cup for a birdie that enabled him to beat par. He shot 1-under 71, giving him a two-shot lead over two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, who had a 4-under 68 to finish at 206, putting him in the final group with Woods. Retief Goosen made eight birdies in his round of 66 for a total of 9-under 207 and will play along with Scottish hero Colin Montgomerie, who made a 30-foot birdie on the final hole for a 70. Sergio Garcia (69) and Brad Faxon (70) were at 208, while Michael Campbell (68) and Vijay Singh (71) were another shot behind.