Woods right back in it

Tiger Woods stormed back into contention for a third straight US Masters title after surviving the halfway cut by the narrowest of margins.

Woods carded a third round 66 at Augusta National to climb from a share of last place to joint fifth on one under par, just four shots behind surprise leader Jeff Maggert, who also carded a 66.

Halfway leader Mike Weir, who had a six-shot lead at one stage in the third round, was two shots behind Maggert after a 75, with David Toms and Vijay Singh a shot further behind.

Former Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal was alongside Woods on one under, along with world number four Phil Mickelson.

World number one Woods had been 11 shots off the lead at halfway after saving par from a greenside bunker on the final hole of his second round simply to make the cut on five over par.

Six birdies and no bogeys later and Woods was ominously placed on the leaderboard and poised to complete possibly the greatest comeback ever.

“This tournament we all know anything can happen on the back nine, you just have to get yourself in position,” Woods said. “Even four back that’s not inconceivable.

“It makes me assured that I’ve done it here before. I know how to win a major championship and that’s something that means a lot.”

Only two players have had the chance to claim three consecutive green jackets, Jack Nicklaus missing the cut in his attempt in 1967, and Nick Faldo finishing joint 12th, five shots behind winner Ian Woosnam, in 1991.

Woods has made a habit of creating history however, and a ninth major title would see him break another record, Craig Stadler’s 75 in 1982 being the previous highest first round score by a winner.

Ten shots behind after his opening 76 – a round which brought his string of 257 consecutive rounds with at least one birdie to an end, a run stretching back to the third round of the 1999 Open, played in terrible conditions at Carnoustie - Woods fell further back with a second round 73.

But that did not tell half the story of his dramatic battle to make the halfway cut.

Starting on the second, Woods went from bunker to bunker on the fourth to run up a double bogey five, bogeyed the sixth, and after a birdie on the seventh, three-putted the eighth to lie right on the cut line.

Needing a par to make the last two rounds, Woods found the trees off the tee on the ninth and could only punch a low shot into the greenside bunker.

He had already thinned one bunker shot on the fourth, but this time played a superb shot to three feet and calmly holed the putt to survive.

“I’m in, and if I can get to even par at the end of the day I will be right in it,” Woods said before he started his third round, and even better was to come.

After starting with a par on the 10th, his opening hole, the 27-year-old American holed from 50 feet for birdie on the 11th and followed up with two more on the 13th and 15th.

Out in 33, Woods now began the front nine at Augusta, which he played in three-over-par 39 in both the first two rounds.

This time, however, he was on the front edge of the par five second in two and easily two-putted for a birdie, and rolled in another birdie putt from 35 feet, the huge roar from the gallery no doubt sending a clear message to the rest of the field.

He was not finished yet either. Ernie Els had eagled the seventh hole earlier by spinning the ball back down the slope into the hole, and Woods almost repeated the trick, leaving just two feet for his sixth birdie of the day.

Collated scores & totals after third round of 67th US Masters, Augusta National, Georgia

(Gbr&Irl unless stated, Par 72)

(x) denotes amateurs

211 Jeff Maggert (USA) 72 73 66

213 Mike Weir (Can) 70 68 75

214 David Toms (USA) 71 73 70, Vijay Singh (Fij) 73 71 70

215 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa) 73 71 71, Tiger Woods (USA) 76 73 66, Phil Mickelson (USA) 73 70 72

216 Jim Furyk (USA) 73 72 71, Len Mattiace (USA) 73 74 69, Jonathan Byrd (USA) 74 71 71

217 Mark O’Meara (USA) 76 71 70, Rich Beem (USA) 74 72 71, Ernie Els (Rsa) 79 66 72, KJ Choi (Kor) 76 69 72, Fred Couples (USA) 73 75 69, Nick Price (Zim) 70 75 72, Paul Lawrie 72 72 73

218 Tim Clark (Rsa) 72 75 71, (x) Hunter Mahan (USA) 73 72 73, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 76 71 71, Chris Riley (USA) 76 72 70, (x) Ricky Barnes (USA) 69 74 75

219 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 73 74 72, Phil Tataurangi (Nzl) 75 70 74, Davis Love III (USA) 77 71 71, Scott Verplank (USA) 76 73 70

220 Rocco Mediate (USA) 73 74 73, Scott McCarron (USA) 77 71 72, Justin Rose 73 76 71, Darren Clarke 66 76 78

221 Bob Estes (USA) 76 71 74, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 69 78 74, Charles Howell III (USA) 73 72 76

222 Craig Parry (Aus) 74 73 75, (x) Ryan Moore (USA) 73 74 75, Shingo Katayama (Jpn) 74 72 76, Nick Faldo 74 73 75, Loren Roberts (USA) 74 72 76, Billy Mayfair (USA) 75 70 77

223 Jeff Sluman (USA) 75 72 76, Robert Allenby (Aus) 76 73 74, Brad Faxon (USA) 73 71 79, Adam Scott (Aus) 77 72 74

225 John Rollins (USA) 74 71 80, Jerry Kelly (USA) 72 76 77, Kevin Sutherland 77 72 76

226 Pat Perez (USA) 74 73 79, Kenny Perry (USA) 76 72 78

228 Craig Stadler (USA) 76 73 79