Adam Scott
AP
With Brandt Snedeker suddenly falling apart, Adam Scott seized control Saturday during the third round of the British Open and was positioning himself to win his first major title.
Tiger Woods also moved past the collapsing Snedeker but, with the round winding down, he remained five strokes behind the Aussie leader on a glorious day at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, reports The Associated Press.
Scott started with six straight pars before birdies at the seventh and eighth holes pushed him to 11 under for the tournament. He became the first player to reach 12 under with another birdie on the par-5 11th, before a poor wedge shot at the 12th led to his first bogey of the round.
Still, Scott was in control after starting the day one stroke behind Snedeker, who went through the first two rounds without making any bogeys. That all changed on the far end of the course, where the quick-playing Tennessean had four bogeys in rapid-fire succession over a five-hole span. It didn't get any better on the back side, where a bevy of errant shots led to two more bogeys. He was 5 over on the day, a staggering six shots out of the lead that had been his just a few hours earlier.
Woods got off to a sluggish start with a couple of bogeys, but he made the turn at 1-under 33 after closing the front side with three birdies in four holes. He hasn't won a major title in more than four years, the last of his 14 championships coming at the 2008 U.S. Open, before his personal life imploded and his body was wracked by injuries.
Woods couldn't keep it going on the back side, a couple of misread putts costing him two crucial strokes. He was 6 under through 15 holes, while 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell passed Snedeker, too, joining Woods in the second spot on the scoreboard.
Snedeker got off to a solid start, but the trouble started when he came up short of the green at the fifth and couldn't get up and down, taking his first bogey of the Open after 40 holes without one. Just like that, they started coming in droves.