Gullane, Scotland, July 20: Tiger Woods and Ernie Els, the two most prodigious talents in golf over the last five years, were both perfectly positioned for a British Open charge in Saturday's third round. Woods, chasing the third leg of an unprecedented grand slam of golf's majors in a calendar year, was starting two shots behind co-leader Els who finished six under par after 36 holes thanks to a 66.

But both knew that kind of gap could easily be swallowed on Muirfield's treacherous links which were expected to be made even trickier on Saturday by increased winds and rain.

Irishman Padraig Harrington, who shared the pace with Els, Americans Duffy Waldorf and Bob Tway plus Japan's Shigeki Maruyama, summed up the situation to perfection: "We're only halfway there -- but there's more than half the work still to do." Bureau Report