Round Three of the PGA Tournament in Chaska, Minnesota

At first glance, round three of the PGA tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Chaska, Minnesota, looked like it was going to be boring. Tiger Woods was ahead by four strokes. As the commentators kept emphasizing, "Tiger is eight for eight at midway point." However, Nick Faldo was quick to point out that there were "more opportunities out" on the course this round as the course was "set up easier." The weather wasn't as much a factor as it had been the day before with wind gusts up to 25mph and temperatures in the 90's. The winds weren't as strong on day three but from a different direction; and cloud coverage kept the greens moist.

The players compete in twosomes on the weekend; and there were several spotlighted pairings. Ernie Els was paired with Soren Kjeldsen, from Denmark. Both played well at times and finished tied for fourth place, five strokes behind the leader. Els closed his round with three consecutive bogeys which hurt him.

One of the low scorers from day two was Ross Fisher. Unfortunately, he faded and fell six shots behind the leader. He was paired with Padraig Harrington. Harrington made a charge tying for the lead at hole 14. He bogied hole number 18, however, and ended up two shots behind the leader.

Lucas Glover and Brendan Jones, who were tied for second after day two, were paired together. Although he finished four back, Glover had some good play during his round. Jones slipped to six behind the leader.

Playing with the leader, Tiger Woods, was Vijay Singh. Singh has been paired with Woods many times and is not intimidated by the best in the world. In spite of that, Singh fell apart and shot a 75 which put him eight strokes behind the leader. While many players made birdies, Woods played conservatively. He plodded along making mostly pars and even a bogey. In familiar Tiger fashion, however, he made a great chip-in birdie at hole 14. Woods finished in the lead by two strokes.

The gold star for the day went to Y.E. Yang a 37 year old South Korean. He shot the low round of the day, a 67, moving into a tie for second place with Padraig Harrington. He will be paired with Tiger Woods on the final day of the tournament. Yang has won once, beating Woods in the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in 2007. Woods has won 70 times. Yang is a smiley, flashy dresser who first took up golf at the age of 19. He has nothing to lose and much experience to gain. What was predicted to be a boring round turned out to be exciting after all. The final day should have some excitement in it also as the newcomer Yang, battles the best in the world, Tiger Woods.