<p class="title">Tiger Woods is one round away from ending his five-year victory drought after storming into a three-shot lead on day three of the Tour Championship here on Saturday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Woods, 42, looked in a class of his own as he carded a five-under-par 65 to leave himself on 12 under for the tournament at Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After an opening birdie on the par-four first, Woods went surging clear of the field with a run of five straight birdies from the third hole.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The run came with a mix of superb iron play and rock-solid putting, including a 21-foot birdie putt on the fourth.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There was also a moment of magic from the former world number one on the seventh, when he drilled a 172-yard approach shot to five feet and then tapped in for birdie.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was denied a bigger lead after bogeys on the ninth and 16th holes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I got off to a nice start and made some nice putts. Good Lord," Woods said afterwards.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I left myself in good spots, too, so I was able to take a run at some of the putts. Other than number three, every putt was uphill, so it was nice. I felt like I could free-wheel it, and they went in."</p>.<p class="bodytext">A Woods victory would be an 80th PGA Tour triumph and take him to within two wins of Sam Snead's all-time 82 Tour victories.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I would love to be able to win this event," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I've got a three-shot lead. I've got a bunch of guys behind me that have been playing well and are playing well, and we'll see what happens tomorrow."</p>.<p class="bodytext">With one round remaining, Woods leads by three from Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose on nine under.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Simple math says that if I play a clean card, the guys behind me have to shoot 67 to force it into extra," Woods added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"So, that helps. I don't have to shoot 63 or 64 and hope I get help. That's a big difference.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This is a spot I'd much rather be in than certainly four or five back."</p>.<p class="bodytext">And having won 106 tournaments around the globe, Woods was quizzed if there was any further room for a 107th victory prize.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I am sure there would be room somewhere in the house if I happened to go on and win this event," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Woods' last victory came 1,875 days ago in August 2013 when he captured the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 14-time Major winner is a two-time former Tour Championship winner and enjoys a remarkable record of winning 54 of 57 PGA Tour events when holding the 54-hole lead.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 42-year-old returned to golf this season after missing most of the previous two years with a debilitating back injury.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Behind Woods, McIlroy is lurking menacingly after carding a four-under-par 66.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Overnight leader Rose remains in the hunt but will look to improve on Sunday after a two-under-par 68.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="bold">Leading scores (US unless specified): 198:</span> Tiger Woods (65-68-65); <span class="bold">201:</span> Rory McIlroy (NIRL, 67-68-66), Justin Rose (ENG, 66-67-68); <span class="bold">204:</span> Kyle Stanley (69-68-67), Jon Rahm (ESP, 68-68-68); <span class="bold">205:</span> Paul Casey (ENG, 68-71-66), Tony Finau (67-71-67), Billy Horschel (71-65-69); <span class="bold">206:</span> Aaron Wise (70-69-67), Dustin Johnson (69-70-67), Gary Woodland (66-72-68), Xander Schauffele (68-70-68), Justin Thomas (67-69-70).</p>
<p class="title">Tiger Woods is one round away from ending his five-year victory drought after storming into a three-shot lead on day three of the Tour Championship here on Saturday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Woods, 42, looked in a class of his own as he carded a five-under-par 65 to leave himself on 12 under for the tournament at Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After an opening birdie on the par-four first, Woods went surging clear of the field with a run of five straight birdies from the third hole.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The run came with a mix of superb iron play and rock-solid putting, including a 21-foot birdie putt on the fourth.</p>.<p class="bodytext">There was also a moment of magic from the former world number one on the seventh, when he drilled a 172-yard approach shot to five feet and then tapped in for birdie.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He was denied a bigger lead after bogeys on the ninth and 16th holes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I got off to a nice start and made some nice putts. Good Lord," Woods said afterwards.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I left myself in good spots, too, so I was able to take a run at some of the putts. Other than number three, every putt was uphill, so it was nice. I felt like I could free-wheel it, and they went in."</p>.<p class="bodytext">A Woods victory would be an 80th PGA Tour triumph and take him to within two wins of Sam Snead's all-time 82 Tour victories.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I would love to be able to win this event," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I've got a three-shot lead. I've got a bunch of guys behind me that have been playing well and are playing well, and we'll see what happens tomorrow."</p>.<p class="bodytext">With one round remaining, Woods leads by three from Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose on nine under.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Simple math says that if I play a clean card, the guys behind me have to shoot 67 to force it into extra," Woods added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"So, that helps. I don't have to shoot 63 or 64 and hope I get help. That's a big difference.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This is a spot I'd much rather be in than certainly four or five back."</p>.<p class="bodytext">And having won 106 tournaments around the globe, Woods was quizzed if there was any further room for a 107th victory prize.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I am sure there would be room somewhere in the house if I happened to go on and win this event," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Woods' last victory came 1,875 days ago in August 2013 when he captured the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 14-time Major winner is a two-time former Tour Championship winner and enjoys a remarkable record of winning 54 of 57 PGA Tour events when holding the 54-hole lead.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 42-year-old returned to golf this season after missing most of the previous two years with a debilitating back injury.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Behind Woods, McIlroy is lurking menacingly after carding a four-under-par 66.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Overnight leader Rose remains in the hunt but will look to improve on Sunday after a two-under-par 68.</p>.<p class="bodytext"><span class="bold">Leading scores (US unless specified): 198:</span> Tiger Woods (65-68-65); <span class="bold">201:</span> Rory McIlroy (NIRL, 67-68-66), Justin Rose (ENG, 66-67-68); <span class="bold">204:</span> Kyle Stanley (69-68-67), Jon Rahm (ESP, 68-68-68); <span class="bold">205:</span> Paul Casey (ENG, 68-71-66), Tony Finau (67-71-67), Billy Horschel (71-65-69); <span class="bold">206:</span> Aaron Wise (70-69-67), Dustin Johnson (69-70-67), Gary Woodland (66-72-68), Xander Schauffele (68-70-68), Justin Thomas (67-69-70).</p>