Retief Goosen has his game pointed in the right direction. (Photo: Getty Images)

Gap closes as Goosen charges, Woods starts slowly

Retief Goosen shot himself into contention at the 134th Open Championship with a brilliant 6-under 66 Saturday that lifted the South African to 9-under overall and within striking distance of a suddenly shaky Tiger Woods. Woods, who entered the third round with a four-shot lead, saw it trimmed to a single shot after bogeys at two of the first six holes.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) -- Three major champions took aim at Tiger Woods on Saturday, shaving his commanding lead at the British Open.

Retief Goosen, a two-time winner of the U.S. Open, tapped in a 3-foot birdie at the 18th hole for a 6-under 66, heading to the Royal & Ancient clubhouse just one stroke behind Woods.

Goosen was 9-under 207 through 54 holes. Now, the South African must avoid the sort of final-round meltdown that cost him a shot at his third U.S. Open title three weeks ago -- a three-stroke lead disappeared when he soared to an 81 on Sunday.

Goosen's collapse opened the door for Michael Campbell to pull off a stunning victory at Pinehurst No. 2. The New Zealander was in contention again after shooting 68, leaving him at 209.

John Daly, who won the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews, started the day with three straight birdies and was at 7 under.

Woods, teeing off in the last group with a four-stroke lead, provided hope to his challengers with a three-putt bogey at No. 2. But he made it up with a birdie at the par 5 fourth hole. He promptly gave that shot back when he was forced to take an unplayable lie on No. 6 after pushing his tee shot right and into a gorse bush, dropping him to 10 under.

There was plenty of time for Woods to make up for his mistakes, and the Old Course was ripe for scoring. The feared North Sea wind was relatively calm on a warm, sunny day, providing plenty of chances to go low as long as one avoided the 112 bunkers sprinkled throughout the fabled Scottish links.

Woods opened with rounds of 66 and 67 for his largest 36-hole lead in a major since his magical run five years ago, which included a 19-under, eight-stroke victory at St. Andrews.

Scotsman Colin Montgomerie, playing with Woods, got a huge salute from the home fans when he was introduced at the first tee. He started his round with four straight pars, keeping Woods in his sights.

Among the early starters, Soren Hansen of Denmark shot a 6-under 66, matching Woods' first-round score. Maarten Lafeber of the Netherlands and Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland cruised to 67s before Woods even teed off in the final group.

Everyone knew Woods would be difficult to catch, though he's not as dominating as he was on the way to his "Tiger Slam."

"Obviously, the whole tournament depends on Tiger," Clarke said. "If he's going well, it's going to be very difficult for Monty or anyone else to catch him."

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