Australia's Adam Scott shot a 4-under-par 66 to regain sole possession of the lead heading into the final round at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.
Scott moved to 12-under 198 for the tournament to take a one-stroke lead over fellow Australian Jason Day and Japanese 19-year-old phenomenon Ryo Ishikawa, who finished 11-under 199.
Day matched Scott's 66 while Ishikawa rocketed into contention with a bogey-free 64.
American Keegan Bradley and Scotsman Martin Laird share fourth a shot further back at 10-under 200.
Scott enters the final day in prime position to grab his eighth win on the US PGA Tour and the US$1.4million payday that goes with it.
He birdied two of the opening four holes before bogeys on the sixth and 10th stalled his run.
But after abandoning his strategy to draw the ball off the tee and instead hit everything with a fade he birdied 12, 14, 15 and 16 to ensure sole possession of the 54-hole lead.
"Today was a good round because I wasn't really feeling it, although I'm swinging well," Scott said.
"Just a couple shots got away from me throughout the round, and I somehow managed to straighten it out early on the back nine and played really nicely coming in, so I was very happy.
"A few holes that I tried to draw the ball off the tee, I left them out to the right.
"I couldn't get the ball working back to the left, and I've been hitting the ball really nice the other way this week, left to right, so I just went back and hit everything left to right coming in."
The 31-year-old Scott was not concerned with golf's new breed, with the four guys behind him in their 20s, or in Ishikawa's case, teens.
The Queenslander believes he has the game to outlast them on Sunday but admitted the tournament was still well and truly up for grabs.
"I'm just going to look at it as a great opportunity," he said.
"It's a pretty bunched up leaderboard and a pretty tough golf course out there.
"I'm just going to have to play well to win tomorrow. You know, my strategy is just to have a chance when I'm coming down the last.
"I feel like my game is in good enough shape. The one thing I'm going to focus on is my rhythm, my rhythm of my golf swing and try and keep it nice and smooth because everything else feels good.
"I don't feel like there's a lot of pressure on me, I just want to play well tomorrow, and I think if I do that, I can win."
Ishikawa, winner of 10 titles on the Japan Golf Tour, is trying to become the youngest winner on the US PGA Tour in a century.
England's Luke Donald moved up the leaderboard with a 64 that put him on 201, tied with American Rickie Fowler (69) and Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson (67).
Donald, winner of the WGC Match Play Championship earlier this year, needed just 26 putts and said that was the key to his improved scoring.
"It's nice to get in position," Donald said. "I putted a lot better today. That was really the only difference between today and the first two days.
"I've been swinging it nicely, hitting a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. Just was able to get the putter rolling and hole a few putts, which was a pleasant surprise."
Former world number one Tiger Woods struggled on the greens on the way to a 2-over 72 that left him 13 shots off the lead.
The event serves as a tune-up for Woods for next week's PGA Championship at Atlanta, where he will resume his quest to break the record of 18 major championships won by Jack Nicklaus.
Woods is playing his first tournament since limping out of the Players Championship in May. His last complete round came at the Masters, where he first suffered the left knee and Achilles injuries that sidelined him.
Despite his difficulties with the putter, Woods was satisfied with his ball-striking.
"I really hit it good coming home, started hitting the ball the right flight, every tee shot was flash, everything was back to where it was at the beginning of the week," Woods said.
"Only difference is I didn't putt well again today, two horseshoes, three-putted 18, and then obviously made a bogey with a sand wedge on 16.
"That's four shots right there."
AAP/AFP
Tags: golf, sport, united-states, australia First posted August 07, 2011 06:03:04
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