PONTE VEDRA BEACH - The roars and the fist pumps were back, and so was Tiger Woods. But he left the TPC-Sawgrass Stadium Course knowing an excellent opportunity had slipped away.
Woods caused some early excitement during the third round, climbing into a tie for fifth at one point, 6 under par for his round.
But he ended the day with bogeys at the 17th and 18th holes. And when the leaders failed to pull away, it had to make the finish all the more frustrating.
"I am pleased with how well I played, but to finish the way I did ... it's not that exciting because I was right there," Woods said after shooting 4-under-par 68. "Even if the leaders go ahead and run off, I could still be in reach. Now I've got to go ahead and birdie two to get back to where I was at one point. It is frustrating. Any time you end bogey-bogey, it's always going to leave a bad taste in your mouth."
Woods got on track early, playing the front nine in 32, including a chip-in birdie at the ninth. He added birdies at the 12th and 13th but had bogeys on three of the final five holes.
At 212, Woods was 4 under, tied for 16th, six shots back of Adam Scott.
GOING LOW: Woods needed Craig Parry's round, an 8-under 64 that vaulted him up the leaderboard. Parry made the cut on the number at 146, teed off at 7:35 and was done before noon. His 64 put him at 6-under 210.
Parry, who had two eagles and six birdies, said he is on a high from his victory at Doral three weeks ago, when he holed a shot from the fairway for eagle to beat Scott Verplank in a sudden-death playoff.
"I've got a lot more confidence in playing," said Parry, who was tied for ninth, four back of Scott. "I'm going out there to play well, rather than just being part of the tour. I feel as though the way I'm playing at the moment I can win any event I'm playing in. You just have to set it up the first two rounds (here), rather than being 2 over par. It's not real good golf. I've given myself a chance."
AROUND THE TPC: John Daly's Masters hopes faded after 75 left him tied for 66th. With moving into the top 50 in the world remote, he has to hope he is not passed on the money list, on which he is ninth. The top 10 after today qualify for Augusta. ... Clearwater's John Huston has a shot at Augusta after 71. He was tied for 26th, two shots removed from the top-15 finish he probably needs. ... Paul Stankowski became the fourth in TPC history to birdie the final four holes at the Stadium Course. He joined Tampa's Gary Koch (1983), Fred Wadsworth (1987) and Rocco Mediate (1996). Tommy Tolles in 1997 also played the final four holes in 4 under, with par, eagle and two birdies.
