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"To come from six back against the world No. 1 was always going to be tough to do," said Els, who at the end of the day had cut the margin in half.
Els birdied the 3rd, 5th and 8th holes to get to four under par, only three behind. Woods seemed to sense danger, sticking his approach eight feet behind the pin on the 384-yard, par-4 7th hole and calmly rolling in the birdie putt. The lead was back to four strokes.
Els kept charging, flagging his approach on the 374-yard, par-4 9th, to within five feet of the pin, but Woods had roasted a 2-iron onto the 8th green, a 245-yard par 3. Woods made the 25-foot putt for a birdie 2, detonating a huge roar from the gallery. Els didn't hit the hole with his birdie try. The lead was five.
"I was a bit tentative," Els said of his missed putt on the 9th. "It was downhill and I hit it too soft."
It was quickly apparent Sunday that there were birdies to be had at Southern Hills. Simon Dyson, a 29-year-old Englishman who began the day 13 strokes off the lead, fired a six-under-par 64 to get back to even par for the tournament. He finished in a tie for sixth place with Trevor Immelman (69) and Geoff Ogilvy (69). Arron Oberholser (69) and John Senden (71) tied for fourth at one under.
Woods seemed in control of the tournament after his birdie on the 8th but gave the shot right back with a bogey on the 9th. Meanwhile Els was making birdie on the 10th, and he hit his tee shot on the par-3 11th to within five feet. He was having a round reminiscent of Andres Romero at the British Open, but just as he had on 9, Els missed the short birdie putt on the 11th, hitting it through the break. Still, he kept pushing, with birdies on the 13th and 14th to get to six under, within two.
Austin was making a run, as well, making three straight birdies from holes the 11th to the 13th to get to six under, also two strokes behind Woods.
Meanwhile, the leader was struggling. Woods lost his 3-wood tee shot right on the par-5 13th. He had to lay up short of a pond and blasted his approach into the back bunker. He got up and down for par but three-putted on the 223-yard, par-3 14th hole to drop to seven under, just a stroke in front of Austin and Els.
