Tiger toils at Olympic, slips five off the pace

Very little went right for Tiger Woods during Saturday's third round at the US Open as he fell out of a tie for the lead to end a frustrating day at the Olympic Club five strokes off the pace.

In pursuit of his first major victory in four years, three-times champion Woods struggled with his putting, often found himself in between clubs for approach shots and repeatedly missed fairways off the tee by very slight margins.

The former World No. 1, who had been joint top overnight with fellow Americans Jim Furyk and David Toms, piled up six bogeys and just one birdie for a five-over-par 75 to finish at four-over 214 in a tie for 14th.

As Woods made his way up the hill to the Spanish-style clubhouse to sign his card, he bumped his hand into a photographer's camera but later said that his wrist was "fine".

After speaking to reporters, the 14-times champion immediately headed off to the practice putting green to work on his short game.

"I struggled on the greens today, quite a bit," Woods said after being outscored by his playing partner Furyk by five shots. "They looked quick, but they putted slow.

"But they were firmer than they were yesterday so it was a tough feel for me to adjust. And it was just one of those days where I was right in between clubs on about every single shot.

"I just never quite had the right number."

Woods, who wore a lime green shirt for the third round, has never come from behind after 54 holes to win a major.

Making his task even more difficult is the number of experienced players ahead of him going into Sunday's final round, including former major winners Furyk, Graeme McDowell, the two co-leaders, and Ernie Els.