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CARNOUSTIE - Sergio Garcia played the grinder's role to perfection to strengthen his grip on the British Open on Saturday (NZ time), while a stiff Scottish breeze blew Tiger Woods' title hopes off course.
Overnight leader Garcia curbed his natural exuberance to plot his way to a level-par 71 for a six-under tally of 136 but Woods never recovered from the shock of driving his opening tee-shot into the water as he slumped to a 74 for 143.
Spaniard Garcia held a two-stroke lead over South Korean KJ Choi (69), who is bidding to become the first Asian to win a major.
"I was hoping for a little better than I did but every time you can shoot even par on a tough day in an Open championship you know you're going to be very close," the 27-year-old Garcia told reporters.
"It was a bit more of a grinder's day and overall I am still pretty happy about it."
Sharing third place on 139 were 2003 US Masters champion Mike Weir (68) and Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez (70).
One shot further back were Americans Jim Furyk and Boo Weekley in conditions warmer than the bone-numbing introduction to the event yet considerably more breezy.
Garcia, who wept eight years ago and missed the cut with a 30-over-par aggregate of 172, had a smile on his face on the first green after producing a spectacular up-and-down to rescue par.
With a bunker guarding the putting surface and precious little green to play with, he somehow contrived to float the ball up with his most lofted wedge and land it gently just over the sand before it rolled within a foot of the hole.
"It was a great save to start with," said Garcia, who is attempting to win his first major.
Woods endured sharply contrasting fortunes at the 406-yard first, duck-hooking his drive into a hazard and taking a two-shot penalty that led to a double-bogey six.
He birdied the second before limping to the turn in 39 after bogeys at the fifth and eighth. The 12-times major winner picked up a stroke at the long 14th but an errant approach into a greenside bunker at the last cost another bogey.
"I hit a lot of poor shots but hung in there," said Woods. "I could easily have shot myself out of the tournament but I kept myself right in there.
"With the bad weather coming I need to get organised because tomorrow will probably be a pretty tough day."
Choi, six times a winner on the PGA Tour, is ready to make major championship history, according to his caddie.
"He has the skill to win this tournament, that's for sure," said Briton Andy Prodger, who used to be on the bag of six-times major winner Nick Faldo and helped him win this event in 1987.
Jimenez moved into the title hunt after narrowly missing out on a hole-in-one at the 248-yard 16th where his tee shot rolled just short.
It was Canadian Weir, though, who fired the day's best round with a five-birdie 68.
World number two Phil Mickelson was the highest-profile casualty of the cut after an error-strewn 77 left him on 148, six over.
Briton Luke Donald, the world number nine, survived narrowly after a 76 for 146 which included two sixes and a triple-bogey eight after he went out of bounds when a playing partner's dropped club upset him on his downswing.
Surprise package Rory McIlroy is assured of the silver medal for top amateur. The 18-year-old from Northern Ireland was the only non-professional to make the cut after returning a 76 for 144.
- REUTERS
