Woods Leads PGA by 3; Garcia Knocked Out

TULSA, Okla. – A cruising Tiger Woods led Stephen Ames by 3 shots in the third round of the PGA Championship on Saturday. Woods made two birdies and one bogey through 17 holes on yet another steaming day at Southern Hills to drop to 7 under for the tournament. He is 7-0 when leading a major after 36 holes.

Meanwhile, the rough times continued for Sergio Garcia, who was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.

Woods was enjoying a drama-free round after matching the major championship record with a 63 on Friday. He just missed holding the record alone, when a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole spun 270 degrees around the cup and out the other side.

Still, eight birdies and one key par save carried him to a two-shot lead over Scott Verplank, whose bogey-free round fired up a gallery who have been cheering him since he won the U.S. Amateur title and a PGA Tour event while at Oklahoma State.

Verplank pulled a shot closer in the third, though that lasted for about a minute. Moments after Verplank made a birdie putt on No. 4, Woods followed with a birdie of his own.

Verplank found the rough three times on the next hole, the par-5 fifth, and made bogey, which increased his deficit to three. A double bogey on No. 12 cost him dearly, leaving Ames five shots back in second place after Woods drained a 10-foot birdie putt.

Garcia, who made the cut on the number at 5-over par, signed for a 4 on the par-4 17th hole, when he in fact recorded a 5. He shot a 4-over 74, though that score was not official because of the disqualification.

In tournament golf, players exchange scorecards and keep each other’s score. Garcia was playing alongside Boo Weekley, who wrote down the score down incorrectly. At the end of the round, it is the player’s responsibility to check the card for accuracy and Garcia didn’t do that.

Garcia had left the course and was not available for comment when his disqualification was announced. With a three-day score of 9 over, he would have been tied for 63rd in the 72-man field, with about half the players still out.

The day’s best score belonged to Weekley, who had a chance for a 63 with a long putt on the 18th hole. He missed badly and wound up three-putting to finish at 5-under 65, which put him at even par for the tournament.

Weekley didn’t know there was a record on the line

"Really? That would have been nice," he said. "I was just trying to make par."