Lee Westwood and Tiger Woods traded punches throughout the third round. In the end, the Englishman delivered the big blow as he finished Day 3 of the British Open championships with a two-stroke lead over the world's no.1 golfer on Saturday at Muirfield Golf Links in Scotland.
Westwood, who's looking for his first career Grand Slam title, shot a 1-under par in the third round to put him in prime position heading into Sunday's championship round. As for Tiger, he has to come up with a performance he hasn't done before - to win the title coming from behind.
According to ESPN, Woods has never won a major championship when he's trailing after three rounds. The top-ranked golfer had several chances to take control, but miscues on the 17th and 18th hole put him behind Westwood.
"It was grind," Woods told reporters during the post-round conference, according to ESPN. "With this golf course and the way it's changed every day, different conditions ... it will be interesting to see what they do (Sunday)."
Meanwhile, Hunter Mahan also had a great day on the field after shooting a 3-under par to force a two-way tie with Woods in second place. Masters Open winner Adam Scott is still within striking distance following a 1-under score while Phil Mickelson crawled back into contention with a 72 in the third round.
On the other hand, second-round leader Miguel Jimenez has now dropped to 11th place after shooting a 6-over 77. The title is also slipping away from the hands of defending British Open champ Ernie Els, who actually played better golf today with a 70 but a 74 in both the first and second round really hurt his bid.