Australian fall off the pace on PGA Tour as Tiger Woods lurks four behind

THE Australian tilt at the US PGA Memorial tournament nose-dived as American Spencer Levin took charge in the third round in Ohio.

Spencer-Levin

THE Australian tilt at the US PGA Memorial tournament nose-dived as American Spencer Levin took charge in the third round at Muirfield Village in Ohio.

Levin fired a three-under par 69 to move to eight under par for the tournament, one clear of South African Rory Sabbatini (71), three clear of Rickie Fowler (69) and four ahead of 14-time major champion Tiger Woods (73).

Aaron Baddeley (73) remains an outside chance of victory at two under par in a tie for eighth, six back of the leader.

Baddeley's one over round was the equal best of the eight remaining Australian's who averaged 75.63 on a windy day in Ohio.

Levin joined the lead with a birdie on the second hole, a spot he wouldn't relinquish all day. A hole out eagle from the back of the green on the fifth shot him two clear before he added a birdie on the sixth to blitz three clear.

The Californian native gave a shot back on the seventh but nailed another birdie on the ninth and then chipped in for his fourth birdie of the day a hole later to be double digits under par and four clear.

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A bogey on the 12th and another on the 16th stalled him a little but a clutch par save on the 17th ensured he'd play in the final group for just the second time in his career.

Earlier this season he took a six shot lead into the final round of the Phoenix Open only to shoot a 75 and lose by two shots.

Woods looked primed for a big day when he rolled in a 21-foot birdie on the first to join the lead.

But as Levin charged Woods managed just one other birdie on the front nine and had four bogeys on the back.

"I certainly probably shot the highest score I could have shot today considering the way I hit it," Woods said.

"But I'm only four back, and out here with the conditions supposed to be like this tomorrow again, anything can happen."

Baddeley uncharacteristically three-putted the second green for bogey before unleashing on the par five fifth where he watched a 32-foot eagle putt barely miss but tapped in for birdie.

The Victorian then attacked the second par five of the front nine, but saw his three wood drop about five yards short into the greenside bunker.

He produced a near precision shot from the sand and the ball caught the hole but somehow rimmed out.

The resulting birdie briefly had him within two of the lead. Sand saves on the next three holes kept him inside the main contenders but a loose tee shot on the par three 12th resulted in a bogey.

The 31-year-old then had chances for birdie on the 13th, 15th and 16th holes but couldn't get the ball to drop and actually three-putted from 10-feet on 16 to drop another shot.

Two separate 15-foot par saves on the closing two holes helped save his mood going into Sunday.

Greg Chalmers and Adam Scott started the day just four off the lead but shot five-over 77s to drop to three over, 11 off the pace.

Jaidee leads Wales Open

In CARDIFF, Thai veteran Thongchai Jaidee moved into contention for a first victory on European soil by taking a narrow lead after the third round of the Wales Open at Celtic Manor.

Jaidee, a three-time Asian number one, started and finished with birdies to complete a solid four-under-par 67, which gave him a one-shot lead over England's Ross Fisher and Dutchman Joos Luiten.

Jaidee, ranked 199th in the world to Fisher's 157th, birdied the par-five last after an incredible drive measured at 410 yards.

"I think 320 is the longest for me, so when we got to the top of the hill I asked, 'Where's the ball?' and a marshall told me," he said.

"I thought it was 390, but 410 sounds better."

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The 42-year-old Jaidee has won four European Tour events in total, but all of those events were played in Asia.

"I've won a lot of times in Asia and I've played well a lot of times in Asia," added Jaidee.

"In Europe, it's very important for me to do well because the weather is going to be very difficult for me. I've learned a lot of things - how to play with these conditions.

"I think this time it's a very good chance. You never know how it's going to be tomorrow (Sunday), but I'll try to give it my best and look forward."

Fisher had reignited his dream of playing in the Ryder Cup by taking the lead at the halfway stage on Friday with a five-under-par 66.

But the accident-prone Englishman had to overcome another incident - stubbing his toe in his hotel room on Friday night - to keep himself in contention with a level-par 70 that was marked by five birdies but also five bogeys.

"There were a few expletives and it was extremely painful," said Fisher. "I couldn't put any weight on it and half-contemplated playing in trainers.

"One of the toes is as purple as anything. I iced it and two of the toes were strapped together, but I hit it everywhere and I'm glad to finish."