Sergio Garcia stood over a 5-foot birdie putt, the kind that has given him fits the past couple of years, and watched it roll true into the center of the cup Saturday for a share of the lead with Rod Pampling at the Buick Invitational in LaJolla, Calif.
Garcia is convinced his best days with the putter are ahead of him.
And as he walked off the 18th green at Torrey Pines and glanced at the leaderboard, there was little question how soon he was about to find out.
One shot behind was Tiger Woods, who tends to get the best of the 26-year-old Spaniard when it counts.
Another shot behind was Phil Mickelson, who recovered from a rocky back nine with a birdie on the last hole that left him only two shots behind.
“I’ve always enjoyed competition, playing against the best,” Garcia said. “That’s why I came here to the U.S. to play on this tour. It’s going to be a fun day, and by no means is it going to be easy. I’m looking forward to what we can do.”
Garcia and Pampling each had a 4-under-par 68 on the tough South Course, site of the 2008 U.S. Open, and shared the 54-hole lead at 11-under 205. They will be in the final group today with Woods, who found his swing and fired at flags on his way to a 67 that put him at 206.
Woods, the defending champion, shot 32 on the stronger back nine to get into contention in his first start of 2006. He was joined by Nathan Green (69), a PGA Tour rookie from Australia, and they had plenty of company. Ten players were separated by three shots.
“I put myself there with a chance to win tomorrow,” Woods said.
Champions Tour: Loren Roberts moved a step closer to a Hawaiian sweep after winning last week’s MasterCard Championship, shooting his second straight 6-under 66 to take a four-stroke lead over Scott Simpson at the Turtle Bay Championship in Kahuku.
European Tour: Henrik Stenson shot a 1-under 71 to retain a one-stroke lead after the third round of the Qatar Masters in Doha.
