Woods, chasing 1st win since 2013, leads by3

Tiger leads Rose, McIlroy by 3 at season-ending PGA Tour event

ATLANTA — Tiger Woods made it look and sound as if he had never been gone.

More than turning back time, every hole seemed like the one before Saturday at the Tour Championship. A tee shot striped down the middle of the fairway. The clean strike of an iron as he held his pose. A sonic boom of the cheers from around the green. Another birdie.

“I got off to an ideal start,” Woods said. “And the next thing you know, I was off and running.”

With the most dynamic golf he has played all year, Woods built a five-shot lead in seven holes before he cooled from there, settling for a 5-underpar 65 that gave him a threeshot lead over Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. Woods now has an ideal chance to end this comeback season with a moment that has defined his career: Winning.

Woods has the 54-hole lead for the first time since his last victory in 2013 at the Bridgestone Invitational. He has never lost an official tournament when leading by more than two shots going into the final round, and his closing record with the lead is 42-2 on the PGA Tour.

He has never been in better position to show he’s all the way back from four back surgeries that once made him fear he might never play again.

“I’ve gone through a lot this year to get myself to this point, and understanding and

fighting my way through it,” Woods said. “I’m certainly much more equipped than I was in March because of what I’ve gone through.”

Wood was at 12-under 198 and will be paired for the first time in final group with McIlroy on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy birdied two of his last three holes for a 66.

“It’s obviously exciting for the golf tournament. It’s exciting for golf in general that he’s up there,” McIlroy said. “But for me, all I can do is concentrate on myself. The game is hard enough without looking at other people. Go out there, take care of my business, and hopefully that’s good enough.”

Rose started the third round tied with Woods, but that didn’t last long. Rose opened with two bogeys before battling back, but the world’s No. 1 player already was four shots behind after four holes. He narrowed the gap with a birdie on the 16th as Woods had to scramble for bogey, a two-shot swing.

“In some ways, it felt like a Sunday just with the energy,” Rose said after a 68. “But I knew that it was halfway through a Saturday. Just wanted to sort of chisel a few back and give myself a chance going into tomorrow.”

There used to be no chance against Woods when he was atop the leaderboard going into the final round. Now? Woods has gone more than five years without winning. But he also has won enough times — 90 tournaments around the world — to remember how.

“Simple math says that if I play a clean card, the guys behind me have to shoot 67 to force it into extra holes,” Woods said. “That helps. I don’t have to shoot 63 or 64 and hope I get help. This is a spot I’d much rather be in than four or five back.”

Sam Greenwood / Getty Images Tiger Woods, who has won 42 of 44 previous tournaments he has led after three rounds, follows his tee shot on No. 6 Saturday.