GOLF: U.S. OPEN - Woods left on the sidelines ; Third big tournament of the year reaches its climax without the world No 1 landing a blow FINAL Edition

• Published in: The Independent on Sunday
• Main Author: ANDY FARRELL at Olympia Fields, Illinois
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Independent Digital News & Media 15.06.2003

Tiger Woods began the weekend at the 103rd US Open with an ominous pronouncement. "I'm right where I need to be," said the world No 1. Woods started the third round at Olympia Fields three behind the joint leaders, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk, but a five- over-par round of 75 definitely was not were he intended to go. Woods needed to retain his crown here to avoid leaving town without a major title to his name. But he was unsettled as early as his second shot at the first hole when a spectator whistled on his downswing. It might have been expected from the trains rattling by to the left of the first fairway but Tiger immediately swung to his right and glared at the miscreant in the gallery. "If it had been on my backswing I could have stopped but not on my downswing," Woods said. His ball was pushed into a bunker on the right and though he pitched on to the green for three he failed to make an opening birdie. After dropping two more shots at the 10th and the 13th, Woods finally holed a long putt for a birdie at the 14th but immediately missed a six- footer for par at the next and bogeyed the 16th as well. "I didn't play that poorly, I just made nothing," Tiger said. "I couldn't get any momentum going on the greens. People were saying they were faster but I still thought they were slow. I couldn't force myself to get it to the hole."