PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Ian Poulter didn’t realize he had a three-shot lead in the Honda Classic, only that he was playing well enough to feel like he was in control of his game and the tournament.

One shank changed everything Sunday.

“That just came out of left field,” Poulter said.

His next tee shot that splashed down in the water left of the fairway made it even worse.

“It was a bit of a body blow,” he said.

What had been a marathon day at soggy PGA National suddenly turned into a sprint-to-the-finish on Monday morning when the final round was to resume. Poulter lost command of the Honda Classic, but he didn’t lose his place atop the leaderboard.

He was at 7-under par through seven holes, tied with Paul Casey, who went out in 31 and was in the left rough on the 10th hole when the final round was halted at sunset.

Patrick Reed, in the final group with Poulter, was one shot behind.

Phil Mickelson was among four players who were three shots behind at 4-under par. That group included Daniel Berger, the PGA Tour rookie from West Palm Beach whose final shot Sunday was a 35-foot chip-in for birdie on the 11th hole.

“I’m pretty pleased with the golf I’ve played throughout the whole of today,” Poulter said. “I haven’t really made many mistakes at all. I’ve put it in position an awful lot, which is encouraging right now. And If I do that tomorrow, then I’m going to be in a good position.”

His two mistakes were big ones.

Leading by three shots, he tried to take a little off an 8-iron on the par-3 fifth hole, where the green is guarded by water on the left. Poulter hit a shank that went so far to the right it bounced into water on the sixth hole. He made double bogey and lost the lead.

On his next tee shot, he pulled his drive into the water down the left side of the sixth fairway and had to two-putt from 65 feet to escape with bogey.

“You take your foot off the accelerator for one second, all of a sudden you find yourself completely out of position,” Poulter said.

For a day of plodding across the rain-softened fairways, the Honda Classic suddenly was full of energy, not to mention possibilities. There was a three-shot swing at No. 5 when Reed holed a 35-foot birdie putt from a swale right of the fifth green and Poulter made his double bogey. Reed took the lead on No. 6 when Poulter made bogey.

And then Poulter was on the right end of a two-shot swing at their final hole of the long day, the par-3 seventh. His eyes a little wider, his blood boiling, Poulter drilled a 6-iron into 3 feet for birdie, while Reed missed the green to the left and failed to get up-and-down.

No longer forgotten was Casey, who made four birdies on the front nine, all from no more than 12 feet. His birdie on No. 9 moved him into a share of the lead.

The Monday finish was caused by nearly 5 inches of rain and 50 mph gusts that washed out the third round on Saturday and took a 78-member grounds crew until 10 a.m. Sunday just to get the course ready. It had so much water that the crew had to chase off an alligator from the bunkers. Players finished the third round and went right back out to squeeze in as many holes as possible. The final round was to resume at 8 a.m.

“This sort of situation is going to be difficult for everybody, and it just breaks up momentum,” said Casey, who had more than anyone. “Some guys will carry it through tomorrow. Others won’t, and that’s very difficult to predict. …You just hope you wake up tomorrow and you feel like you’ve got the same kind of golf swing and putts are going in the hole. You just don’t know. Hope the golfing gods are nice to us tomorrow.”

That’s what Mickelson was thinking.

He opened with two quick birdies and was getting closer to the lead until pushing a 4-foot par putt on the sixth hole. Mickelson had 10-foot par putt on the ninth hole when he returned Monday morning.

“I’m looking forward to just having a minute to regroup and take a look at what’s going on,” Mickelson said.

Jeff Overton, Brendan Steele and Russell Knox, who lost in a four-man playoff last year at PGA National, also were at 4 under.

Poulter was right about one thing. He did play some good golf, except for those two holes. He was bogey-free for a 66 in the third round, taking him from a two-shot deficit to a three-shot lead over Reed and Padraig Harrington going into the final round. It was his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour.

Harrington twice missed short putts – making bogey on No. 4 and double bogey on No. 6 – and was at 3 under.

Poulter at least was pleased with how he left the course with that 6-iron for birdie. He will try to end more than two years without a victory.

“Silly things happen,” he said. “Tiring, and made a couple of really bad swings on 5 and 6. But that kind of angered me inside enough to spark a little bit of energy there to hit a good shot on 7.”

Canadian Update:

Canada’s Adam Hadwin is tied for 27that 2-over par with six holes remaining.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Padraig Harrington is a 36-hole leader on the PGA Tour for the first time in nearly five years and he knows he has a long way to go.

A vicious storm Saturday at the Honda Classic made his weekend even longer.

Harrington made six birdies in the 12 holes he played Saturday morning in the rain-delayed tournament to complete a 4-under 66 and take a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed, with Ian Poulter and Brendan Steele another shot behind.

The third round ended 51 minutes after it started because of a storm that packed 50 mph gusts and dumped about 5 inches of rain on PGA National. The storm was so severe that it created an air bubble on the 18th green the size of a sea turtle, caused the sides of bunkers to cave in and toppled an electronic scoreboard off a platform and down to the bottom of a lake.

“That’s as bad as I’ve ever seen it rain,” Russell Knox of Scotland said after a 68 left him four shots behind.

Only 24 players completed a hole before the storm arrived, causing the third delay of the week. The plan was to return at 10 a.m. Sunday to resume the round, and continue with the same pairings to play as much as possible on Sunday. The tournament now is to end on Monday.

“We’ve got pretty much a mess,” said Slugger White, the tour’s vice president of competition.

It helps that the next event is a World Golf Championship about a 90-minute drive down the highway at Doral, and there is no pro-am.

Harrington, the three-time major champion from Ireland, has fallen to No. 297 in the world and couldn’t qualify for Doral even if he were to win. He won the Indonesian Open on the Asian Tour at the end of last year, ending a four-year drought dating to another Asian Tour event.

His last PGA Tour victory was his second straight major, the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. He said the benefit of playing Indonesia was a boost to his confidence, on and off the golf course. At such a small tournament, his name resonates.

“They treat you like a star, you play like a star,” he said. “I’m back to being a three-time major winner. I went for that reason – to give my ego a boost. There’s definitely a lot to being a big fish in a small pond.”

That was a proper analogy when PGA National turned into a pond, and Harrington surely played the role of a big fish.

Thanks to nearly four hours of rain delays Friday, he made it through six holes and returned Saturday with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes, and then another from about 10 feet on No. 1, posing over just about every shot.

After a bogey set up by a wild tee shot on the par-5 third hole – he had to pitch down the second fairway because of the trees – Harrington ran off three straight birdies before a few loose tee shots cost him. The rough had become so thick and wet that he couldn’t reach the green on his last two holes, making bogeys on both.

He finished at 7-under 133.

“It’s nice to be in contention,” Harrington said. “I’m very positive about my game coming in here this week. I don’t know what’s going to happen the next 36 holes, but I have a good idea where I’m going. I’m pretty confident.”

Reed finished his 67 on Friday.

Poulter matched the low round of the week at PGA National with a 64 and was two shots back. He holed out for eagle with a sand wedge on the fourth hole and dropped only one shot on the back nine.

“If I play half as good as I’ve obviously played today, then I’m going to have a chance come Sunday,” Poulter said.

Steele’s 69 score doesn’t reflect his up-and-down day. He didn’t make a par until the 10th hole, playing the front nine with six birdies and three bogeys. And then he made nothing but pars on the back nine except for a double bogey on the 16th.

Luke Donald finished his 67 on Friday and was another shot back at 4-under 136.

The cut was at 4-over 144 and didn’t include Rory McIlroy. His first tournament in America in five months lasted only two days for the world’s No. 1 player. McIlroy bogeyed three of his last four holes on Friday for a 74 and missed the cut by three shots.

Phil Mickelson, who had missed two straight cuts on the West Coast swing, finished up at 67 on Saturday and was five shots behind.

The focus on Sunday starts with Harrington.

“Through 27 holes, I was the most confident guy in the world, and less so at the moment,” he said after his bogey-bogey finish. “I know it’s going to be a long weekend, and a tough weekend. I have two options. I can play well on the weekend or I can dig deep and hang in there.”

Canadian Update:

Adam Hadwin was the lone Canadian to make the cut. The Abbotsford, B.C. native carded a 71 in round 2 to squeak into weekend action.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Rory McIlroy’s first PGA Tour event in five months lasted only two days.

His road to the Masters hit a speed bump Friday in the Honda Classic when the world’s No. 1 player managed only one birdie in the rain, stumbled badly down the stretch and headed home for the weekend after a 4-over 74, the first time in nearly a year he had consecutive rounds over par.

The cut officially will not be made until Saturday because of a rain delay of nearly four hours, though he knew the score. And he wasn’t happy about it.

“I don’t like missing cuts,” McIlroy said. “You want to be playing on the weekend, and I’m not there. I’m not going to be playing this weekend, which is not nice.”

It was pleasant enough for Patrick Reed, who recovered from a double bogey early in his round by playing bogey-free the rest of the way for another 67. He was the clubhouse leader at 6-under 134. None of the late starters had enough light to play more than 12 holes before the second round was suspended by darkness.

Brendan Steele birdied all four holes he played and was at 8 under.

The Honda Classic is considered the start of the buildup to the Masters, and McIlroy is getting more attention than anyone over the last two decades except for Tiger Woods. McIlroy is No. 1 in the world. He already has won this year. And a green jacket is all that’s missing for him to become the sixth player with the career Grand Slam.

He’s also not about to panic.

“I guess after coming off a three-week break, and then felt a little … I wouldn’t say rusty, but just not quite on top of my game yesterday,” McIlroy said. “And then today, I felt like I was trying to get something going and couldn’t. Coming off three weeks off and playing in conditions like these, it sort of shows you where you’re game is at. Just got to regroup and put some work in and get ready for Miami next week.”

McIlroy is playing twice more before the Masters.

“I wouldn’t worry and read too much into it,” Luke Donald said after a 67 put him at 4-under 136, two shots behind Reed. “Rory has been by far the best players in the world for the last year or so.”

Reed made double bogey on No. 11 – his second hole of the round – and then the rain became so heavy that play was stopped, first for about two hours, and then for nearly another two hours.

“Made for a long day,” Reed said. “But to get off to a rough start with making that double on 11 and to be able to play bogey-free from there on out, it meant a lot to me just because it means my game is where it needs to be.”

McIlroy lives a short drive from PGA National, though that’s not where he wanted to be for the weekend.

While the three bogeys at the end of the round cost him, what really hurt was a bogey on the par-5 18th as he made the turn. He felt his lie in the left rough was good enough for him to go for the green with a fairway metal. It wasn’t, and the ball came up short and into the water, leading to bogey.

That’s also where the big turnaround for Brooks Koepka occurred.

Koepka, who grew up in West Palm Beach, played with McIlroy and Dustin Johnson and opened with a 78. On the 18th, his approach hit a cart path and bounced over the sky box and onto the other side. It took a rules official some time to even figure out where he was. He received a free drop on the other side, 70 yards away, hit wedge to 20 feet and holed the putt.

“I guess you could say it was the kick-start I needed,” Koepka said.

That was the centerpiece of three straight birdies, and Koepka kept right on rolling to fulfill a mission. Swing coach Claude Harmon told him to try to do 10 shots better than a 78, and the 24-year-old told him, “I’ll do better than that.” He shot 64 – a 14-shot improvement – to finish at 2-over 142.

Johnson, a contender at Pebble Beach and Riviera the last two weeks, wasn’t so fortunate. He three-putted from 3 feet on the seventh hole, shot 75 and finished at 12-over 152 to miss his second cut this year.

McIlroy missed the cut for the 29th time in 191 tournaments worldwide, and for the 11th time on the PGA Tour. His last weekend off was at the Irish Open last summer. Boy Wonder has a history of getting streaky with wins and missed cuts, though this would be appear to be more of an aberration.

“It was funny, it felt like the first tournament of the season when I’ve actually played two events,” McIlroy said, referring to his runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi and victory in Dubai. “I felt yesterday maybe a little tentative, just maybe trying to ease my way into the round a little bit and not really being that aggressive. That’s why it’s nice to have four rounds next week to try and put that right.”

CANADIAN UPDATE:

Adam Hadwin was the lone Canadian not to finish Friday. The Abbotsford, B.C. native was sitting 3 over mid-way thru his second round.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont. (70-75) was 5-over and sitting tied for 81st, in danger of missing the cut.

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask. (75-75) was 10 over and will miss just his second cut of the season.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Playing in America for the first time this year, Rory McIlroy’s first shot was a 2-iron out of play.

A relentless wind with gusts that approached 35 mph provided a rude welcome to just about everyone Thursday at the Honda Classic except for Jim Herman, who somehow made it around PGA National without a bogey for a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead.

McIlroy managed to salvage a tough day with by holing a 30-foot birdie putt and two-putting for birdie on the 18th hole for a 3-over 73. It was his highest opening-round score to par since a 3-over 74 at The Barclays seven months ago. And he didn’t seem too bothered.

The world’s No. 1 player was competing for the first time since he won in Dubai a month ago. And he wasn’t alone. He played with Dustin Johnson, who birdied his last two holes for a 77, and Phoenix Open winner Brooks Koepka, who shot a 78.

“The conditions were obviously very tricky from the start,” McIlroy said. “From the first hole, it was always going to be a day like that. I feel like I salvaged something out of the round the last couple holes, but it was just a day to keep trying, not to give up and know that anything around level, 1-, 2-over par still isn’t out of it.”

Only 19 players managed to break par. Only three holes – both par 5s and the downwind ninth – played under par. Seventeen players had a front-nine score of 40 or higher.

Herman didn’t mind the wind, though he moved to south Florida more than a decade ago and was surprised earlier in the week when there wasn’t hardly any wind at all. Even with a 65, it still wasn’t easy. He twice saved par from the fairway and rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.

“I don’t mind it blowing,” Herman said. “I feel like I can control the golf ball pretty well with my iron game. So yeah, it was OK that the wind was blowing.”

Brendan Steele pitched in from about 35 yards to save bogey on the 14th hole, a key moment in his round of 66. Martin Flores, Kapalua winner Patrick Reed and Padraig Harrington were at 67. U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer was among those at 68.

Harrington would seem to feel at home in these conditions. On a day when the gusts were relentless, they still would be considered a wee breeze in Ireland. Except that the Irishman has spent the last four weeks in gorgeous, calm weather on the West Coast.

“If I had come from Ireland, I probably would be thinking it was a nice day,” Harrington said. “But having played the last four weeks over here, even I was struggling and questioning and doubting myself out there. I found it very difficult.”

McIlroy found that out immediately.

Even starting on the easier first hole, the wind fooled him and took his 2-iron far to the right and toward the driving range. Just like that, he was 2 over.

He found the water left of the green on the par-3 fifth hole for another double bogey, and came a foot within big trouble on the 14th. His tee shot sent left toward the houses and stopped about 18 inches from the out-of-bounds stakes. He made bogey to fall to 5 over with four holes remaining.

Walking to the 15th tee, the power group of the day had put up some shocking numbers.

Johnson, who contended at Riviera and Pebble Beach, was 9 over for his round. Koepka was 5 over. Collectively, that made the group 19 over.

“Walking from 14 green to 15 tee, I said to Brooks, `Let’s just make a couple birdies on the way in, try and get something out of it,'” McIlroy said. “Luckily, I was sort of able to do that. But it was tough. When nothing is going your way and you don’t really have anything to feed off, you don’t see many good shots and guys … we’re all struggling. It was a grind out there. We’ll all go home and put our feet up and get ready for tomorrow.”

No one could remember the last time they faced such wind, which wasn’t that strong for south Florida. There was virtually no wind in Hawaii this year, or even at Pebble Beach. It was a stiff start to the Florida Swing.

Reed had the best score of the afternoon wave, when the wind was at its strongest.

“When I hit 6-iron normally 200 yards and I’m pulling 6-iron from 170, it’s tough,” Reed said. “The main thing was just to stay in my golf swing and just be comfortable and try to be confident that’s the club to hit from those distances. I feel like I did a good job.”

Phil Mickelson opened with a 71 and was relatively pleased, though that was hard work. He hit into water hazards three times on the front nine.

“I really enjoyed the challenge of the day,” Mickelson said. “It’s fun to be back out competing, and I had a good day with the putter.”

Canada’s David Hearn was a shot better than Mickelson. The Brantford, Ont. native opened with a 70 to lead the Canadian contingent in Florida.

Abbotsford, B.C.’s Adam Hadwin opened with a 72, while Weyburn, Sask.’s Graham DeLaet carded a 75.

Mike Weir withdrew with an elbow injury.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Fans stood three-deep and formed a corridor from the 18th green at PGA National as they tried to get an autograph, a picture or even a close look at Rory McIlroy. Moments later, another group of fans pressed against him with souvenir flags to sign as McIlroy left a conference room.

The attention comes with being the No. 1 player in golf, the apparent heir to Tiger Woods. McIlroy is used to this by now. He has been the best player in the world since August, filling the void of a sport looking for a dominant figure.

“This is the position I want to be in,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “And I want to be in it as long as I can.”

It’s only going to get more chaotic.

McIlroy competes on U.S. soil for the first time in five months when the Honda Classic begins on Thursday. The palm trees and tropical warmth of south Florida are the sure signs that the Masters is around the corner. McIlroy, who blew a four-shot lead in the final round at Augusta National in 2011, goes there with a chance to become only the sixth player to capture the career Grand Slam.

Like other players, the 25-year-old will venture up to Augusta to practice in the coming month. The real preparation is to play good golf, and to allow that confidence to become momentum that he can carry to the first major of the year.

“People talk about momentum and talk about sort of riding it, but I think momentum and confidence are two very similar things in golf,” McIlroy said. “If you’re confident and you’ve had good performances, that confidence seems to carry on. And if you’re happy with how practice goes, then you’re obviously going to be confident going into tournaments. So that’s sort of how I’m feeling right now. And try to keep that feeling for as long as I can.”

It seems like it’s been a long time already.

McIlroy still isn’t anywhere near the roll Woods enjoyed during his peak years. Going into the 2000 Masters, for example, Woods won 11 times in 19 starts and only twice finished out of the top 10. No one was close to him.

In his last 12 starts worldwide dating to the British Open, McIlroy has four victories (including back-to-back majors and a World Golf Championship), four runner-up finishes and has finished out of the top 10 two times.

In his last six tournaments, he has finished no worse than second place in all but one tournament, the Australian Open. So yes, he’s going along quite nicely.

The obstacle at the Honda Classic might be rust.

McIlroy hasn’t played since winning the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 1. He got past one potential distraction when he settled a court case involving his former management company. He has been home in south Florida the last three weeks, practicing and playing and trying to stay on this roll during an important part of the season.

McIlroy won the Honda Classic in 2012, the first time he rose to No. 1 in the world. A year ago, he was poised to win again until he stumbled on the back nine at PGA National, only to hit 5-wood into 10 feet on the final hole for a two-putt birdie to get into a four-man playoff. Russell Henley won on the first extra hole. McIlroy didn’t really get going until a few months later, but he’s been tough to beat ever since.

“He’s the best player in the world,” Rickie Fowler said. “And when he’s driving the ball well, that’s when he’s deadliest. So he did a good job of putting himself in play last year and obviously hits longer than a lot of guys, too.”

Woods isn’t around. He said two weeks ago he wouldn’t return to competition until his game was in tournament shape. So far, that’s just one tournament – the Honda Classic – though the attention on the absence of Woods is sure to ratchet up if he misses Bay Hill.

McIlroy is mixing up his schedule slightly this year. He’ll be at the WGC event next week at Doral and then play the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill for the first time, making it likely he will have two weeks off for Augusta.

The Masters, at the moment, is not on his mind.

“I feel like I’ve got a nice schedule going into Augusta,” McIlroy said. “I’m not playing too much, but I’m playing just enough that I should be as sharp as possible going in there. I haven’t thought about it. What I really thought about over the past couple of weeks is getting ready for these events coming up, and trying to play as well as I possibly can in those. So that gives me a little confidence going into a little break to prepare as well as I can for Augusta.”

LOS ANGELES – Too nervous to look, too stunned to dance, James Hahn won the Northern Trust Open for his first PGA Tour title Sunday by holing a 25-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole at Riviera.

In a wild finish off Sunset Boulevard just as the Academy Awards was getting started, Hahn wound up with the trophy against a field of far bigger names to earn his first trip to the Masters.

He got up-and-down from behind the 18th green in regulation to save par for a 2-under 69. And that turned out to be good enough for a playoff when Dustin Johnson missed a 10-foot birdie putt for the win. Johnson closed with a 69.

Paul Casey joined them in the playoff at 6-under 278 when he made bogey on the 18th hole for a 68.

Sergio Garcia finished bogey-bogey for a 71 to finish one shot out of the playoff. Jordan Spieth, thinking he needed birdie to get to 7 under for a playoff, nearly holed his aggressive chip on the 18th, and then missed the 6-foot par putt coming back. He shot 70 and missed the playoff by one, as did Keegan Bradley (68) and Hideki Matsuyama (67).

All three players made par on the 18th in the playoff, and then headed to the 10th hole, 310 yards of endless trouble. Casey was in the best shape just left of the green, hit a good chip to 15 feet and missed his putt.

Hahn and Johnson were in the rough behind the green and both hit daring flop shots over the back bunker that turned out perfectly. Hahn made his birdie from 10 feet, and Johnson matched him from 3 feet.

On the par-3 14th hole, Hahn pumped his fist when his 25-foot putt broke gently to the right and into the cup. He kept his head down when Johnson stood over his 12-foot birdie try to extend the playoff, looking up only when he heard the groans instead of a cheer.

“This is amazing,” Hahn said. “I never would have thought I would win this tournament.”

A shoe salesman as he tried to find his way in golf, Hahn was best known until now for his “Gangnam Style” celebration of his birdie two years ago on the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open.

Hahn is the first player from Cal to win on the PGA Tour. He still has 72 more wins to catch up with that other Golden Bear – Jack Nicklaus – though this was a great way to start.

He gets into his first World Golf Championship in two week at Doral, and he’s headed to the Masters.

Johnson, in his third tournament since returning from a six-month break to seek professional help for what he called “personal challenges,” made bogey with a wedge in his hand on the par-5 17th when he hit into a bunker, costing him a clear path toward winning.

Garcia let this one get away just as badly.

He had a one-shot lead playing the 17th and hooked his drive into the trees. Then, he blew his 50-foot putt from the fringe some 8 feet by the hole and missed the par putt. Tied for the lead, he pulled another tee shot into the left rough, came up short and chipped weakly to 25 feet for a bogey-bogey finish.

“I’ve always been truthful to myself and I didn’t deserve to win this week. It’s as simple as that,” Garcia said. “It caught up with my on the last six, seven holes. It was already a good effort for me to have a chance. Unfortunately, it’s never nice to finish bogey-bogey. But I can’t really be disappointed because I didn’t play well enough.”

Retief Goosen held on as long as he could until a horrid stretch on the back nine. The 46-year-old South African, going for his first victory in nearly six years, went from the trees on the left to the trees on the right and made double bogey on No. 13. He followed with two more bogeys. Only a pair of birdies at the end salvaged an otherwise miserable final round and he closed with a 75.

Everyone seemed to have a chance. Seven players had at least a share of the lead during the final round. That included Vijay Singh, who turned 52 on Sunday and was tied for the lead with a beautiful bunker shot to 10 feet on No. 10 for birdie. He didn’t made another birdie the rest of the way, fell back with a bogey on the 15th as the rain started to pound Riviera, and then taking double bogey on the par-3 16th. He shot 72.

Bae Sang-Moon also was tied for the lead until bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes. He closed with a 72 and tied for eighth.

Weyburn, Sask. product Graham DeLaet finished in a four-way tie for 8th following a final round 2-over 73. Adam Hadwin finished with a share of 22nd place at even par.

LOS ANGELES – Retief Goosen had gone so long without being in contention on the weekend that he wondered how his nerves would hold up. They were tested Saturday at Riviera, and the two-time U.S. Open champion earned a passing grade.

Even though he made only two pars on the back nine, and twice faced tough putts just to save bogey, Goosen never lost the lead. He finished with a chip-in for birdie, reached the par-5 17th in two for another birdie and had a 2-under 69 to build a two-shot lead in the Northern Trust Open.

“It wasn’t easy out there for me,” Goosen said. “Mentally, I had to work hard to try and stay positive and focused. But I’m still in the lead, so that’s a good place to be. Just try and play solid tomorrow and keep the putter warm and see what happens.”

Sunday is the final exam.

The South African is 46 and coming up on the six-year anniversary of his last win. He was two shots ahead of Graham DeLaet of Canada, who had a 70, with a host of contenders within four shots – Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk, Jordan Spieth, Angel Cabrera, defending champion Bubba Watson, and even Vijay Singh, who turns 52 on Sunday.

Gooden had disk replacement surgery in 2012 when protein injections didn’t work, and feared his career might be over. Now he has a second chance.

“This would be an awesome win,” Goosen said. “It’s been awhile since I had a chance to win. Yeah, this would … feel like a U.S. Open, a third U.S. Open, for me winning this week. I’m going to give it my all tomorrow and fight hard and we’ll see what happens.”

He was at 8-under 205.

DeLaet caught Goosen with an eagle on the opening hole, fell back with consecutive bogeys and did his best to stay close. He will be in the final group with Goosen and Bae Sang-Moon, who matched the best score of the week with a 66 and was three shots behind. DeLaet, going for his first win, thinks that might help being with Goosen.

“He’s a great guy to play with, especially under pressure circumstances, because you can just kind of look at him and see how cool and collected he is with that silky-smooth bomb that he hits off the tee,” DeLaet said. “I’m a little bit more of an emotional player than that, but I’ve learned over the years to not get too amped up or too down low. I think playing with him is a good way to just keep the calm and just go about business.”

Bae was in a large group at 5-under 208 that include Garcia, whose remarkable par on the 13th hole was set up by a 3-iron from a bunker behind the 10th green.

Ryan Moore, whose tee shot on the 286-yard 10th hole rolled over the cup and off the green, was preparing for a long putt up the slope when Garcia’s tee shot on No. 13 landed with a thud behind him and went into a bunker.

“I didn’t know anybody was on the 10th hole,” Garcia said. “I mean, I didn’t even know where my ball was going.”

The trick was figuring out where to go next. The TV towers on the 10th hole blocked his view to the green, but because he was in a bunker, his only relief was against the back lip. Garcia grabbed a 3-iron and drilled it through a tiny gap in the eucalyptus trees, just short of the green. His chip came up 25 feet short, and he made it for par.

Garcia birdied only the 17th on the back nine and shot 68, putting him in contention in his first U.S. tournament of the year.

Carlos Ortiz of Mexico also had a 68 and will play with Garcia, one of his mentors on tour. J.B. Holmes shot a 69 and joined them at 208.

Watson is hanging around. He shot 70 and joined seven others at 4-under 209, still in range just four shots behind. The group included Singh (69), Johnson (67), Furyk (68), Spieth (70) and Cabrera (71).

Also in that group was Moore, who started the round one shot behind and shot a 72.

Moore’s drive on the 10th was close to perfect and ran over the back of the cup. It was an inch away from hitting the flag and possibly dropping for a hole-in-one, but the cup didn’t slow it enough to keep from running off the back of the green. He wound up with a par.

Then, Moore’s tee shot on the par-3 16th hit the flag and caromed off the green. He made that one from the fringe for a birdie. Even so, he was among 13 players within four shots of the lead.

It’s up for grabs, and it starts with Goosen, who says the back surgery gave him a “second life” on tour. Now it’s about what’s between the ears.

“My back is feeling great. I have zero back pain,” he said. “I wish I was 10 years younger, but I feel like I can swing the club again. I just need to control my nerves a little bit.”

Canadian Adam Hadwin is tied for 39th place at 2-over.

DIVOTS: Justin Thomas, one shot out of the lead going into the third round, hit his opening tee shot out-of-bounds for a bogey, and then hit a tee shot on No. 6 that bounced off a tree, off a concession tent and into knee-high grass. He chose to go back to the tee to take triple bogey out of the picture, but then landed on the wrong side of the bunker in the middle of the green and took triple bogey. He shot 75 and was seven shots behind. … The scores on the 286-yard 10th hole ranged from an eagle (Brendan Steele) to a triple bogey (Brandt Snedeker). It was the first time the hole played under par all week with the front left pin.

LOS ANGELES – Retief Goosen handled the tough conditions at Riviera so well on Friday that it brought back some fond memories.

Sure, he’s a two-time U.S. Open champion, and the Northern Trust Open drew some comparisons to golf’s toughest test with its firm, fast conditions. For now, Goosen was just thrilled to be in the lead going into the weekend at any tournament.

Goosen rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on his final hole for a 1-under 70 and his first 36-hole lead in more than four years.

“It’s been such a long time since I’ve last been in contention,” Goosen said. “Who knows how my game is going to hold up? But I’m feeling good. My back is feeling great. So if the nerves can hold, just continue to make good golf swings and make a few good putts, who knows?”

He was one shot ahead of Ryan Moore (68), Graham DeLaet (67) and Justin Thomas, the 21-year-old rookie who already has been in the weekend hunt twice this year. Thomas made three crucial par saves on his final nine holes for a 69.

It’s easy to mention U.S. Open when the scores are high, especially on a course that once hosted one. But there was nothing easy about Riviera. Goosen was at 6-under 136, the highest 36-hole score to lead on the PGA Tour since the Quicken Loans National at Congressional, another U.S. Open venue.

“It’s playing similar to a major championship,” said Jordan Spieth, who had a 70 and was three shots behind. “And the rough … there’s really no rough. That’s what is great about this place. It only takes a couple days for them to make it like a major, and they don’t even have to do much.”

Goosen, who turned 46 earlier this month and hasn’t won in six years, has plenty of work ahead of him.

Two-time major champion Angel Cabrera made two bogeys over his last three holes for a 68 and was two shots behind. Defending champion Bubba Watson (69), Spieth and J.B. Holmes (69) were in the group three shots behind.

Nick Watney became the first player all week to reach 7 under early in the second round, and he was leading when he made the turn and made birdie on the par-5 first hole. He followed with four straight bogeys and shot 74, though he was still in range. Watney was in the large group at 2-under 140 that included Sergio Garcia (69), Vijay Singh (74) and Carlos Ortiz (73).

“If it continues to be like this, it’s only going to get tougher,” Goosen said. “There’s going to be some tougher pins out there, and par will be a good score on a lot of these holes. … The rough is thick in places. The greens are definitely becoming U.S. Open greens.”

The rough isn’t severe, but it doesn’t have to be. The greens are so firm that it’s difficult to get it close. Goosen had a sand wedge into the seventh green and it rolled out some 35 feet.

“It’s just tough to have birdie chances that are reasonable on this golf course right now,” Moore said. “The greens are so firm and so bouncy. I hit a handful of what I would say are as good of shots as I could possibly hit the last couple days and ended up with 45-footers.”

Watson was moving closer to the lead with a 40-foot eagle on No. 1 (he started at No. 10) and a 25-foot birdie on the next hole. But he hit a wayward tee on the third that led to bogey, and finished with six straight pars.

“I haven’t been able to get the ball as close as I want to,” Watson said. “I made two long putts, which me look like I played really good today.”

DeLaet and Thomas each saved their rounds with pars.

DeLaet, who rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 4, had par putts of 10, 7, 6 and 5 feet the rest of the front nine for a solid round with just one bogey. Thomas saved par from the bunker in the middle of the green on the par-3 sixth hole and made an 8-foot par save on the next hole. He also made a 10-foot par putt on the long par-3 fourth hole.

“I felt like they were (worth) more than the birdie putts,” Thomas said. “To leave it in the spots I did and get up-and-down for par was huge.”

Goosen won his U.S. Opens at Southern Hills in a playoff and at Shinnecock Hills with his short game, particularly the putter. This only reminded him of a U.S. Open the way he had to fight for every score.

“I was working hard out there, keeping my score together and hopefully, this weekend it’s going to be the same,” he said. “It’s going to be a grind out there.”

Adam Hadwin of Moose Jaw, Sask. was even on the day and sits T48 at 2-over. Winnipeg’s Nick Taylor and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont. did not make the cut.

DIVOTS: Mike Weir withdrew on his front nine with soreness in his right elbow. He said he would see a doctor and likely not be ready for the Honda Classic. … Lucas Glover made a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole, a tap-in birdie on the par-3 16th and 10-foot birdie on the par-3 fourth, the second-hardest hole at Riviera on Friday. He also had five bogeys, however, and missed the cut by one. … The cut was at 3-over 145. Fred Couples missed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th hole and missed it by one shot.

LOS ANGELES – Jack Nicklaus isn’t ruling out Tiger Woods breaking his record of 18 major championships provided he rediscovers his game.

Nicklaus said Friday on Golf Channel that Woods will have to do that on his own.

“You go through things, and you have to have a positive thing happen to you to turn it around,” Nicklaus said. “I think Tiger will turn it around. He’s too dedicated, he works too hard at it, he’s got too much talent. He’ll figure it out. And personally, I think he needs to figure it out himself. Because a teacher can’t teach what’s inside your head. You’ve got to be able to put that positive thought into your head yourself.”

Woods, coming off an injury-played season that caused him to miss two majors, the FedEx Cup playoffs and the Ryder Cup, began his 2015 campaign with a career-high 82 to miss the cut in the Phoenix Open and withdrawing after 11 holes at Torrey Pines with tightness in his lower back.

He said the tightness was not related to the back surgery he had last spring that kept him out a combined seven months. Woods decided not to play the Honda Classic next week and said he won’t return until his game is ready for tournament competition.

“Tiger is struggling. I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Nicklaus said. “I think he’s struggling more between his ears than he is any place else. He’s struggled with the driver most of his life really, but he’s always been able to find the golf ball and get it somewhere back around the green.

“And now he’s having trouble with the short game,” he added. “That is not a good combination, to drive it poorly and have a bad short game.”

Nicklaus spoke on Golf Channel from Doral, site of the Cadillac Championship. The Jack Nicklaus Villa at Trump National Doral was unveiled on Friday.

Woods has been linked to Nicklaus for his entire career, mainly because of the benchmark Nicklaus established with his 18 professional majors. As a kid, he had a chart taped up in his bedroom of what Nicklaus accomplished at various ages as an amateur.

Woods won his 14th major in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, a week before he had reconstructive knee surgery. He was ahead of pace then, but he has gone six years without winning a major, and he hasn’t played in six majors since his last victory because of injuries.

Nicklaus said he still thinks Woods will eclipse his record, a question the Golden Bear has been asked more than any other over the years. He once joked about the headlines he would create if he ever answered, “No.”

“I still do. Why would I not think that?” Nicklaus said. “He’s got a lot of golf in front of him. But it’s going to be up to him. He’s still got to do it. He may, he may not. Obviously, chances are harder for him now than five years ago, but I still think he has time on his side.”