Woods' birdie charge started courtesy of a bit of good fortune. Coming off an early bogey that left him on one over for his round, he found himself in trouble on the 13th (his fourth) in a bunker to the left of the fairway. He cut a 9- Callaway RAZR X HL irons
too much, sending it right of the green toward deep rough.

But instead of settling in the thick grass it bounced off a hill and onto the green, rolling and rolling till it came to rest a foot from the hole.

"Looked like I was having a tough time making par, and I was making birdie, and off we go," Woods said. "Sometimes, we need those types of momentum swings in a round, and from there, I made some putts."

"I've got a chance going into [Sunday]. Obviously I have to put together another good round and possibly go even lower."

One thing is clear, Woods' form is getting more and more consistent and he's starting to become a regular presence at the top of the leaderboard again.


My bad days and bad shots are not as bad as they used to be," Woods said.

Phil Mickelson shares fourth place after a two-under 70 at Pebble Beach Golf Links - though he is all of six shots off the pace at nine under par. If Wi should falter on Sunday, however, it will bring the likes of Woods and Mickelson right into the frame.

The others on nine under are Dustin Johnson (70 at Monterey Peninsula CC), Kevin Na (70 at Pebble Beach Golf Links), Brendan Todd (69 at Monterey Peninsula CC) and Hunter Mahan (70 at Spyglass Hill).

Ireland's Padraig Harrington lies a shot further back along with home duo Bob Estes and Ricky Barnes.