Johnson grabs two-shot lead overTiger

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Tiger Woods dropped out of the lead with late bogeys for the second straight day, leaving former Masters champion Zach Johnson with a two-shot advantage after three rounds of the Quail Hollow Championship on Saturday.

Johnson was among the few who survived the “Green Mile,” the three-hole span of closing holes at Quail Hollow. He made a 12-foot birdie on the 17th that carried him to a 4-under 68 and a chance to win for the second time this year.

Johnson, at 11-under 205, was two shots ahead of Woods, Lucas Glover and George McNeill, all of whom bogeyed at least the last hole.

The final two groups, including Johnson and McNeill, had to wait out a 1 hour, 12 minute storm delay before finishing the 18th hole. US PGA Tour officials blew the horn to stop play right after Woods staggered to the finish line with a 70.

Woods birdied all of the par 5s, including a two-putt from 12 feet on the 15th hole that put him in the outright lead at 11-under par for the first time in a third round that featured seven players atop the leaderboard at some point.

That he would drop two shots at the end was not terribly shocking, given the difficulty of the holes.

What bothered Woods was he had a 7-iron in his hand both times – a poor approach to the 17th that led to a three-putt from 60 feet, and a slight shift in the wind that kept his ball right of the green on the 18th, followed by a poor chip to 6 feet and failure to save par.

“That’s not the way you want to finish,” Woods said. “But I’ve got a shot going into tomorrow.”   (AP)