GRAND BLANC, Mich. (AP) – Jim Furyk has bounced back from his abysmal showing at the British Open.

The U.S. Open champion made a 48-foot putt for birdie to cap a 7-under 65 and take the lead at the Buick Open on Saturday after three rounds. He is at 17 under, four shots ahead of Tiger Woods.

“I was just trying to roll it up there close and I got a bonus when it went in,” Furyk said of his spectacular putt on 18. “That leaves a nice taste in my mouth.”

Furyk insisted he wasn’t sour for long after he missed the cut at the British Open.

“I forgot about it the moment I got on the plane and came back home,” he said. “When I got my feet on American soil, I was as happy as anybody else. I don’t live in the past.

“I look at the rest of the year and look at how many times I’ve played well and that I’ve won a major championship and lost once in a playoff. I had four bad days to miss two cuts this year. It’s no big deal.”

Furyk made six birdies and showed plenty of poise playing with Woods, while a raucous crowd followed them all day. The last time he led after 54 holes was at the U.S. Open.

“I don’t even think about it because I have played in those situations several times before,” he said.

“The only thing was that if there were 25,000 people on the course, it seemed like 20,000 of them were watching us.”

Carl Paulson is one shot behind Furyk after shooting a 65. Neal Lancaster is at 15 under. Kenny Perry, Paul Goydos, Paul Gow and second-round leader Chris DiMarco, who shot a 71, are three shots off the lead.

Woods is among three players at 13 under.

“As far back as I am, and as many guys as there are between me and the lead, I’m going to have to be very aggressive,” Woods said. “It’s going to be tough because this is the type of course that gives us birdies in bunches, so you can’t expect to be the only guy to go low.

“It isn’t like the U.S. Open where you feel like you have a great chance if you are four back. Here, it is very tough to come from that far behind, and if Jim plays as well as he just did, it will be even worse.”

Woods is playing in his final tuneup before the PGA Championship in two weeks, his last chance this season to win a major.

It appeared for much of the day that the No. 1 player in the world would have a lot to work on.

Woods was even par – with two bogeys and two birdies – through 14 holes before making three straight birdies and barely missing another at 18.

He is attempting to be the first repeat champion of the Buick Open since Tony Lema in 1965.

Woods showed up Saturday morning to finish his last three holes from the second round, which was delayed nearly five hours because of a storm. He climbed into contention right away.

He eagled No. 16, finished with a 65 and began the third round tied with Furyk at 10 under, three strokes behind DiMarco.

Woods birdied his first hole of the third round, then bogeyed. He then fell away from the leaders because he failed to make four makable putts – from 7 to 13 feet – for birdies. He also missed a 13-footer for par at No. 10.

After struggling to make par the next four holes, once tossing his club at his caddie in frustration, Woods birdied Nos. 15-17 to ensure himself a chance at a fifth championship this year.

In addition to being upset with his putting, Woods was clearly not happy with his swing mechanics.

After his drive on the ninth hole, he took nine practice swings on the tee box, several while his right hand held his left shoulder. Woods continued to work on his swing while walking down the fairway.

Paulson kept his composure following a bogey on 13, when his second shot hit a tree and landed in a pond. He birdied 14, eagled 16 and birdied 18.

“It was a perfect day,” Paulson said.

Paulson, No. 156 on the money list, missed the cut in nine of his previous 19 tournaments and his best showing this year was a tie for 15th at the Sony Open in January. His best-career finish was second place at the Tampa Bay Classic in 2000.

Perry, who has three wins and three top 10 finishes in his last six tournaments, made the shot of the day with a 121-yard eagle at No. 10.

Ben Curtis, playing in his first tournament since winning the British Open, shot a 4-over 76 to fall to 1 under for the tournament.

Due to a stormy forecast, tee times for the final round will start in the morning – about four hours earlier than scheduled – and the players will go off both tees in threesomes.

AP-ES-08-02-03 1958EDT