IRVING, Texas – Sergio Garcia took the lead from Tiger Woods and then took off Saturday at the Byron Nelson Championship, using awesome control from tee to green for a 5-under 65 and a two-shot lead.

Garcia, winless on the PGA Tour in two years while retooling his swing, had a birdie putt on every hole on the TPC at Las Colinas and has hit the last 23 greens in regulation. He was particularly strong on the par 3s, making birdie on three of them to finish at 11-under 199.

Jerry Kelly had a bogey-free 67 and was at 201.

For the second week in a row, Woods let a 36-hole lead slip away quickly. He lost the lead with a three-putt bogey on the second hole, and had to play hard – usually from the rough – to stay in range. Woods went the final seven holes without a birdie and shot even-par 70, leaving him three shots behind.

Joining him at 8-under 202 was Deanne Pappas of South Africa, who had a 66.

Vijay Singh, among eight players who had a share of the lead at one point, played the final 10 holes in 2 over and settled for a 68, leaving him in a large group at 203 that included Mark O’Meara (70) and Luke Donald of England. Donald was in the middle of the pack until an eagle-birdie-par finish gave him a 64, the low round of the day.

Garcia was never in trouble Saturday in ideal conditions for scoring, and those chasing him are lucky the deficit wasn’t greater.

“I gave myself a lot of birdie chances,” he said. “Unfortunately, the putter wasn’t quite as hot as I’d like it to be. But the game is there.”

Woods had a 75 last week at Quail Hollow to go from a two-shot lead to five shots behind. This time, he managed to limit the damage with incredible shots from the rough, although he also missed several good birdie chances.

He could do without the excitement.

“Down the fairway, middle of the green,” Woods said after his round. “The whole thing is getting it going tomorrow. I need to be in the fairway more, and give myself some better looks at putts. Today, I made nothing.”

Garcia made his professional debut on the PGA Tour five years ago at the Byron Nelson as a fresh-faced teenager who didn’t have a care in the world – or a driver’s license, for that matter – and won over the hearts of the Texas gallery with his go-for-broke style.

It’s a wonder they still recognize him.

Garcia was the model of consistency, splitting the middle of every fairway after his opening tee shot found the rough. He has hit every green in regulation since the 13th hole of second round.

Woods was a polar opposite.

For the last five years, Woods won 18 consecutive tournaments when leading after 36 holes. But for the second straight week, sloppy play at the start of his round brought a slew of players into the picture.

Even before he teed it off, it was evident this would be a day for low scoring – only a mild breeze, the sun starting to break through the clouds, and several guys posting birdies by the bunches.

Woods, however, threw it into reverse. He rammed a 35-foot birdie putt some 8 feet past the hole at No. 2 and wound up with his first three-putt since the 13th hole of the third round at the Masters, a streak of 132 holes. Then, he came up short on the par-3 fifth, the ball trickling down a slope along the edge of the bunker, and chipped 15 feet past the hole to take another bogey.

Three birdies in a five-hole stretch gave him a share of the lead, but Woods didn’t find another fairway after the 11th hole. His tee shot on the 14th – with an iron, no less – was so close to the water hazard that he had to pitch out under a tree to the middle of the fairway and wound up with bogey.

When his final drive drifted into the right rough, Woods cupped the top of his cap and tugged it slightly over his eyes, snatching the tee from the ground in obvious frustration.

Then again, he’s still very much in the picture.

Woods escaped from behind a tree on No. 12, the shaft hitting the trunk on his follow-through, and knocked it to 12 feet. On the 15th, he hit through a gap of trees with a fade to within 18 feet. And on the final hole, he carved another shot around the trees to 12 feet.

See king first LPGA win, Ochoa leads by one

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Lorena Ochoa shot a 5-under 67 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead through three rounds of the inaugural Franklin American Mortgage Championship.

Ochoa shared a one-stroke lead with Pat Hurst heading into Saturday, and took a big step toward her first victory with a seven-birdie, two-bogey round.

The 2003 rookie of the year who has 13 top-10 finishes in her short career, is at 12-under 204.

One week after sharing the third-round lead and finishing second, Ochoa started slowly Saturday with bogeys at Nos. 3 and 6. She rebounded with birdies on six of the next nine holes to move into the lead.

Mi Hyun Kim tied the course record with an 8-under 64, her lowest round of the year, and moved into second at 11-under 204. After not making a birdie in the second round, Kim had eight birdies in a bogey-free third round.

Hurst had sole possession of the lead through 11 holes, but made six straight pars before making birdie at No. 18 for a 68 and moving into a tie for second with Kim. Wendy Ward (68) was at 206, and Stacy Prammanasudh (68) at 207.

Sixteen golfers who failed to finish their second round on Friday, returned early Saturday. But that start was delayed for an hour after 1 inches of rain overnight.

Players were sent off the first and 10th tees for the third round, and the skies opened up again just as play was completed.

Seven golfers were within two strokes of the lead when the third round started, and the leaderboard got more crowded as the players took advantage of the soft conditions on the Ironhorse course at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.

At one point, Hurst, Kim, Ochoa and Ward were tied for first. Hurst then birdied three of the next five holes to go to 10 under, starting on No. 7 when she got up and down after hitting into the greenside bunker on the par-5, 470-yard hole.

It became a three-woman race as Kim, four groups behind Hurst and Ochoa, birdied Nos. 14 and 15.

But Ochoa gave herself a two-stroke margin with her fourth birdie in five holes on the par-5 No. 14.

Divots: Kim matched the course record first set by Hurst in the opening round here in 2001 and tied by Annika Sorenstam in the final round in 2002. … Jenna Daniels celebrated her 26th birthday a day early by tying her career low round with a 66. That took her from 1 over to 5 under, seven strokes off the lead. … More than 4 inches of rain had fallen through Saturday morning, allowing golfers to lift, clean and place in each round.