Golf Events / Paul Krishnamurty / 23 March 2008 / Leave a comment

Excitement for huge odds backers as five [1000.0] shots use 'Moving Day' to rekindle their hopes. Paul Krishnamurty reports

Just when it looked like the result was a formality, Tiger Woods proved his mortality with a distinctly ordinary 11 holes by his own standards. Tiger probably won't have been heartbroken to see the heavy rain arrive to curtail play and give him a chance to regroup, ahead of what now looks like set to be an exciting, extended final day.

When the heavens opened, Tiger was sitting in a tie for third, three behind leader Geoff Ogilvy, with seven holes left of his third round. Gambled down to [1.37] before teeing off, Woods is now out to the highest he's been all tournament at [2.54]. They will resume at around midday with plenty of time available to complete the tournament as planned by Sunday night, though any more lengthy delays and we'll be looking at a Monday finish.

The early stages of both Woods and Adam Scott's third rounds were the complete reverse of their final holes on Friday. Whereas Woods finished birdie-birdie to set up an ominous position ahead of 'moving day', to everybody's shock he opened up with a pair of three-putts today. In stark contrast Scott, who had finished round two with a pair of untimely bogeys, did exactly what he needed to reinvigorate his challenge with a 3-4-3 start. By the end of today's play on the 11th, Scott had turned a two-shot deficit behind Woods into a lead by the same margin, sitting just a single shot off the pace.

Both though still have to catch Geoff Ogilvy, who is so far without a single bogey through 47 holes. The former US Open champion has shown no nerves whatsoever despite holding the lead since early on the first day, and now trades at [4.3]. Its impossible to make a case against him on the basis of his form so far, but it will be quite an achievement for Ogilvy to keep this bogey-free run going.

Its about a lot more than just the three players now though. In fact, Woods treading water has given a whole raft of players new hope and offers serious potential of the biggest priced golf winner of the season to date. Incredibly, there are now five players within five of the lead who have already been matched at the maximum odds of [1000.0].

The most obvious chance lies with Vijay Singh, who revelled in the damp conditions to shoot a superb -8 through 16 holes. Furthermore, when play resumes in the morning the Fijian has a seven foot birdie-putt to get within two of Ogilvy. The chances are that the players in the final 3-ball will make some more birdies between them, but if Vijay can get to -12 he is right in the hunt to complete a historic comeback.

Nor are Singh backers the only ones entitled to be excited. South African Tim Clark also moved into a tie for third after a -7 score through 15, exactly the same score as England's Graeme Storm who is currently four back tied with the dangerous Jim Furyk. Few will fancy Storm's chances of getting the better of his superiors, but Furyk is well capable from here and still has five holes to play. -6 already through 13 holes, he could easily tie or overtake Singh before the final round.

These impressive scores really do highlight how disappointing Tiger's level-par effort was today. But let's not forget that he, Ogilvy and Scott all have seven holes of their third round to play. The chances are that at least one of them will kick on and set a formidable target, and with a par-5 to start tomorrow at least one of them must be expected to improve their score immediately. None of the front-runners have any question marks over their temperament, so on balance while it would of course be lovely to have [1000.0] on any of those chasers, the three players in the final group remain very much the ones to beat.

Having tipped Scott two days ago, I see no reason not to remain confident that he will at least run Tiger very close. However, this game is all about finding trading value, and in this department Jim Furyk stands out at [40.0]. Perhaps the odds are a reflection of his disappointing year so far, but remember Furyk was second only to Tiger in the world rankings less than a year ago. One of the finest putters ever to play the game, Furyk has produced many great final day charges over the years. I'd rather be on at three, or even four figures, but [40.0] still offers excellent trading potential.

Tags: Jim Furyk, WGC