Perry takes Tiger by tail, leads by two

ATLANTA – Kenny Perry birdied his opening four holes as he made 6-under 64 to overtake and lead Tiger Woods by two shots going into the final round of the US Tour Championship on Saturday.

Winning the $10 million for the FedEx Cup remains a long shot for Perry but he gave himself a shot at his third victory this year at East Lake.

“Four birdies in a row puts you in a good mood is all I can say,” said Perry, who was at 8-under 202. “That set the tone for the day.”

Woods had a 12-foot birdie putt on the first hole that slid by the cup, and that set the tone for his day. He missed a half-dozen chances from 15 feet or under, yet his only significant birdies came on putts of 20 and 55 feet. The other was a two-putt on a par 5. He wound up with a 69, his eighth consecutive round in the 60s during the FedEx Cup playoffs, yet this one cost him the lead.

“I got fooled a few times there,” Woods said, confused by the slope and grain on the greens.

Perry will be in the final pairing with Woods, and even though he has a two-shot lead, he is approaching Sunday as though he has nothing to lose and even playfully challenged the world’s No. 1 player.

“Here I am at 49, I’m still trying to beat him,” Perry said. “I have fun with it. He’d better bring his ‘A’ game is all I’ve got to say.”

For Perry to win the FedEx Cup, he would need a victory and for Woods to finish in a three-way tie for third or worse. That remains a possibility, given the players stacked up behind them.

Phil Mickelson continued to ooze confidence with his putter and shot a 4-under 66, suddenly believing he can make any putt whether it’s from 4 feet or 40 feet. He was at 4-under 206 along with Sean O’Hair (70), who was tied with Woods until pulling a tee shot into the water on the 17th to make double bogey.

Padraig Harrington, playing with Woods for the ninth time this year, stopping making birdies to offset his mistakes and shot a 71, leaving him at 207 with Steve Marino (67). (AP)