Pebble Beach (California), June 20 (IANS) If it was Tiger Woods of the old, it was also Dustin Johnson of the old. Except that the man named first has 14 Majors including the last US Open at Pebble Beach won by a margin of 15 shots in 2000. But Johnson has the last two titles at AT&T National Pro-Am, a tournament in which two rounds are played here.
They will not be going head-to-head, but doubtless they will keep an eye on each other, as Johnson goes out with Graeme McDowell and Woods with Gregory Havret.
Johnson took the lead with 66, but before he did that Woods had shot his 66 with eight birdies, including three in the last three holes, and at one-under 212 he is third and five shots behind leader Johnson.
Johnson’s 66 gave him a three-shot lead ahead of overnight leader, Graeme McDowell (71).
The young and the old were also there as Ryo Ishikawa was tied seventh at even par 213 and Tom Watson, who made the cut right on the line is tied 16th at seven-over 220.
Asian flag bearer K.J. Choi got the start he wanted at the third round of the US Open. But the finish let him down this time.
Woods, beginning the day in tied 25th place, stunned the field and admiring spectators with his own 66, just as Mickelson had done on Friday. Woods, birdie-less on first day, had a 66 that included eight birdies, the most ever by him in a single round at the US Open, which he has won three times in the past.
But it was Johnson, who was in lead by the end, as he also shot a 66. The longest hitter on the board was also the best in greens in regulation and it showed in the scores.
The 60-year-old Tom Watson who came in for the weekend right on the cutline shot a 70 and moved to tied 16th. Watson is now six-over 219.
Johnson, who played a practice rounds with Woods, is now five clear of the World No.1 and three ahead of second placed overnight leader Graeme McDowell (71) at 210. A further two shots behind was Woods, who by his admission had done better than planned. Woods was aiming to be even par for the tournament, but he is at one-under.
Johnson said: ‘I just try to stay within myself. I can control what I do. I can’t control what the weather does, I can’t control what anybody else does. So as long as I stay focused and worry about what I’m doing and not what anyone else is doing, then I seem to do pretty well.’
His plans include staying ‘Aggressive’. ‘I will be aggressive as my usual self,’ shot back Johnson. Plans for the evening before the final round, ‘Eat, TV and sleep,’ he says. That has worked for him at last two AT&T National Pro-Am. No reason why it should not do so now.
Johnson’s highlights included driving the par-4 fourth to within six feet for an eagle. Then he birdied the sixth and seventh, before dropping a shot on ninth. He added a birdie on 11th but also dropped a shot on 13th. Then he closed with birdies on 17th and 18th. On the 18th, he reached the green with a second shot from the rough with a 6-iron.
Woods, who won a whopping 15 shots at this course in 2000, started the day seven off the lead. He was then two-over for the day after the first three holes. Then he began his imperious march, with eight birdies over the next 15 holes. That included here in a row from fourth to sixth and then again from 16th to 18th.
On the last two holes it looked the Tiger Woods of the old. On the 17th, he read perfectly the curling putt on the green for a birdie and then cracked a second shot from just behind the two trees and around the Cypress on the right side of the fairway on the 18th hole. Woods hit the green and settled to about 12 feet for an eagle attempt.
However, he left that attempt a bit short, and admitted, ‘I didn’t want to go three feet past and it just died there short.’ He tapped in for a birdie and a round of 66.
‘I just kept telling myself it’s a process,’ said Woods, whose 66 is the lowest round since his return to golf in April. ‘You just gotta hang in there, and I did that.’
