Carnoustie, Scotland ….

Tiger Woods has single-handedly delivered the excitement missing over the opening two rounds storming his way into contention with an impressive five-under par 66 on day three of the 147th Open.

The Carnoustie crowd rose in unison applauding the former three-time Open winner who posted six birdies including three in succession from the ninth to 11th holes before a two-putt birdie on 15 saw him move to a share of the lead on six under par.

And Woods, who has bogeyed the par-3 16th for a second day running, pulled off one of the shots of the day after an errant drive left off the tee at 18 that stopped short of the Barry Burn before he chipped back to the fairway and then had spectators roaring their approval in landing his third to some four-feet to save par.

The effort was Woods lowest round in any Major since posting a similar score on day two of the 2011 Masters at Augustat National.

And showing their pleasure was Woods’ childrn Samantha and Charlie, accompanied by Woods new partner Erica Herman who, it is understood, arrived early Saturday local time into Scotland.

“That was good, I played well today,” said a delighted Woods afterwards. “I hit a lot of good shots, and I really didn’t feel like I made a bad swing until 18. I really felt like I had control of the golf ball today and, on top of that, I made some longer putts, which was nice.

“There were a bunch of guys that were putting up great scores, and the golf course was gettable. I didn’t want to be too far back if the guys got to 10 under par today. I had to stay within reach. And five under is definitely within reach.

“It would be nice if there weren’t a lot of guys between myself and the lead, but not the way this golf course was going to set up. We knew there were going to be 10 or 12 guys with a chance to win on Sunday, and it’s turning out to be that.”

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