Johnson strong at finish for lead at Quail Hollow

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tiger Woods dropped out of the lead with late bogeys for the second straight day, leaving former Masters champion Zach Johnson with a two-shot advantage Saturday heading into the final round of the Quail Hollow Championship.

Johnson was among the few who survived the “Green Mile,” the three-hole stretch of closing holes at Quail Hollow. He made a 12-foot birdie on the 17th that carried him to a four-under-par 68 and a chance to win for the second time this year.

Johnson, at 11-under 205, was two shots ahead of Woods, Lucas Glover and George McNeill, all of whom bogeyed at least the last hole.

The final two groups, including Johnson and McNeill, had to wait out a 1-hour 12-minute storm delay before finishing the 18th hole. PGA Tour officials blew the horn to stop play right after Woods staggered to the finish line with a 70.

Woods birdied all the par fives, including a two-putt from 12 feet on the 15th hole that put him in the outright lead at 11 under for the first time in a third round that featured seven players atop the leaderboard at some point.

That he would drop two shots at the end was not terribly shocking, given the difficulty of the holes.

What bothered Woods was that he had a seven-iron in his hand both times -- a poor approach to the 17th that led to a three-putt from 60 feet, and a slight shift in the wind that kept his ball right of the green on the 18th, followed by a poor chip to six feet and failure to save par.

“That’s not the way you want to finish,” Woods said. “But I’ve got a shot.”

He’s not alone.

Glover got into the mix with an eagle on No. 7 and did not drop a shot until he pulled his tee shot near the creek on the 18th, missed the green to the right and took bogey for a 68.

McNeill also was bogey-free until he three-putted from 40 feet on the 17th, then found a fairway bunker on the 18th that kept him from reaching the green, giving him a 70.

A dozen players were within four shots of the lead, a group that does not include Phil Mickelson, who started the day two behind, then struggled to a 75 that turned with a double bogey on the par-five 10th.

Johnson already has won this year in Honolulu and will play in the final pairing with Glover, whose only PGA Tour victory came four years ago at Disney when he holed out a bunker shot at the 18th.

Even so, having Woods only two shots behind is enough to get their attention.

“I’m only two back, which is nice,” Woods said. “I’ve got a good shot at it going into tomorrow.”

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Quail Hollow leaderboard

Quail Hollow Championship

At Charlotte, N.C.-- Par 72

Third Round

Zach Johnson: 70-67-68--205 -11

Lucas Glover: 68-71-68--207 -9

Tiger Woods: 65-72-70--207 -9

George McNeill: 69-68-70--207 -9

B. de Jonge: 72-69-67--208 -8

Sean O’Hair: 69-72-67--208 -8

Bubba Watson: 71-65-72--208 -8

Retief Goosen: 68-68-72--208 -8

Complete results, C11