Goosen on course for US Open victory

South Africa's Retief Goosen, a member of the European Tour, has taken another step towards ending European hopes of a first win in the US Open since 1970.

Retief Goosen, a member of the European Tour, has taken another step towards ending European hopes of a first win in the US Open since 1970.

And as he did that with a third round 69 at Pinehurst – it swept the 36-year-old South African into a three-stroke lead on three under par – Goosen may well have also extinguished Tiger Woods’ hopes of a first-ever Grand Slam.

The world number five, whose closest challengers Jason Gore and Olin Browne are ranked 818th and 300th, is on track for a third win in the championship in five years.

It would also make him only the third player to make a successful defence of the title since the Second World War. Ben Hogan in 1951 and Curtis Strange in 1989 were the others.

Lee Westwood and Swede Peter Hedblom are the leading Europeans in seventh place, but Goosen’s three birdies in the last five holes meant they will tee off tomorrow six shots behind.

Woods, winner of the Masters in a play-off in April with Goosen joint third, is alongside Westwood and Hedblom.

“I don’t know why I am suddenly doing well in this particular event,” said Goosen, who missed the cut at Pinehurst in 1999 after a second round 82.

“It’s all about saving pars and making the right putts. It’s a grind and it’s just who makes the least mistakes.”

Woods, round in 72, said: “You just go out there and grind away and try to make a bunch of pars.

“Hopefully you can sprinkle in a couple of birdies here and there, but the pins are in really tough spots.

“Maybe over par can still win this championship.” That was before Goosen’s last two birdies, though.

While Goosen looks to cement his place in the history books Gore, Browne and Peter Jacobsen could rewrite them.

Gore would be easily the lowest-ranked player to win a major since the ranking system came in in the mid-1980s, 46-year-old Browne would be the oldest winner of the title and 51-year-old Jacobsen, seven behind after holing-in-one at the ninth en route to a 69, would be the oldest winner of any major.