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  • FedExCup Points: 50,000
  • Purse: $7.0 million
  • Winning Share: $1,260,000
  • Yards: 7,547
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Even one behind, Woods looms as the man to beat
 
Sep. 8, 2007

LEMONT, Ill. -- Everyone knows what a great front-runner Tiger Woods is.

Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods has an excellent track record at Cog Hill. (Jeff Gross/WireImage)
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
TIGER WOODS THRU 54 HOLES
Category Total Rank
Eagles 0 N/A
Birdies 18 2
Pars 33 T45
Bogeys 2 64
Double Bogeys 1 T10
Other 0 N/A
Driving Accuracy 76.2% T9
Driving Distance 314.3 yds. 2
Greens in Regulation 79.6% T3
Putts per Round 28.0 T14
Putts per GIR 1.651 7
Sand Saves 66.7% T24

He's taken the lead into the final round of a PGA TOUR event 43 times and hoisted the trophy on all but three occasions. Thirteen of those victories came in major championships, too.

Conversely, that means Woods has won 17 of his 57 TOUR stroke-play titles when trailing after 54 holes like he does entering the final round of the BMW Championship. He's a stroke behind Steve Stricker and Aaron Baddeley after shooting 65 on Saturday.

"You have one shot, and that's not a lot, but at least you have a shot," said Stricker, who fired a 64 of his own on Saturday. "I'm sure he'll be the guy to beat tomorrow, even though he's one behind. We all know of his firepower and what he's capable of doing.

"You've just got to mind your own business and do the things that you do well and try to get it in the hole in the fewest amount of strokes, but it's going to be probably a different way than what he does it."

Sometimes that's easier to do than others -- particularly when Woods is in the hunt in the group in front.

Baddeley has a double challenge playing with Stricker, who lives about two hours away, went to the University of Illinois and won this tournament in 1996. He's seen it both ways, though -- the young Aussie led Woods by two and joined him in the final group on Sunday at the U.S. Open only to shoot 80 to fall back into a tie for 13th.

"I mean, you've got roars and then you've got Tiger roars and then you've got the hometown crowd roar and then you've got someone else's roar," said Baddeley, who made birdie on his final two holes to slip into the final pairing.

"At Phoenix, (when he won the FBR Open this year), I had a lot of my friends and family out there, so that ... would be similar to what it will be like with Steve tomorrow, sort of like a hometown, sort of close by. But you could tell Steve's roars out there today. When he holed his second shot on 8, you just knew that was a Steve Stricker roar out there."

Interestingly, Woods has come from behind in three of his five wins this season -- and two of those have come at the expense of Rory Sabbatini.

Woods was a stroke behind Sabbatini at the Wachovia Championship, shot 69 and ended up beating Stricker by two strokes. Three months later at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Woods again trailed Sabbatini by a stroke but ended up beating him and Justin Rose by an eye-popping eight after closing with a 65.

Woods also came from behind to capture his first win of 2007 at the Buick Invitational. Andrew Buckle and Brandt Snedeker were ahead by two shots there, but Woods shot a final-round 66 and ended up beating Charles Howell III by two.

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Oh, and there's the little matter of Woods' record on the Dubsdread Course at Cog Hill. He's won the tournament now known as the BMW Championship here three times and finished second each of the last two years.

Ironically, Woods has not led any round at Cog Hill since his 2003 victory, which came in wire-to-wire fashion. Trevor Immelman birdied the final hole to beat Woods by two last year and Jim Furyk held the world No. 1 off by the same margin in 2005.

Woods, who could take the lead in the FedExCup with a win, knows what he needs to do Sunday.

"Well, I'm in great shape, so I've just got to go out there and play the way I've been playing," he said. "I think you've got to have the mindset that you can't go out there and make a bunch of pars.

"There's too many guys up there who can take it low."

Woods included, of course. He shot his third straight round in the 60s on Saturday and Stricker saw the first two up-close and personal. He'll hear it on Sunday, too.

"I marveled at some of the things that he did yesterday, and the day before, hitting it out of the rough and making birdies when it looks like he may make a bogey," Stricker said. "You know, it's tough to compete against a guy like that, and all you can do is just try your best.

"I think that's what's made me relax about the whole situation is I can't worry about him. I know he's going to do phenomenal things. I've just got to go out and do my things differently. You've just got to play your own game and hopefully make a few more putts than he does, which is difficult to do, but just more importantly, just stay within yourself and your own game.

"I think it's okay to watch him, really. I really enjoy watching him. I mean, you shake your head at some of the things he does. It's phenomenal, really."