Tiger Woods will take a one-shot going into Sunday's final round.(How/Getty Images)

LA JOLLA, Calif. -- PGATOUR.com's staff writers will file continuous notes all day from the third round of the U.S. Open (all times ET).

'A BORING ROUND OF GOLF, RIGHT?': That's what Tiger Woods said, tongue firmly in cheek, after his 1-under 70 gave him the lead after Saturday's third round. Other quick quotes from Tiger:

On his knee: "Is it getting worse? Yes it is."

On his chip-in at 17: "It had no business going into the hole."

On the look on his face afterward: "It was like, 'You gotta be kidding me.' "

On his strategy for Sunday: "I'd like to be a little more consistent." -- Mike McAllister (10:35 p.m.)

HOLY COW! Another Tiger bomb, this time on 18, for eagle. That moves him atop the leaderboard at 3 under and caps off an amazing round of 1-under 70. It might be the most spectacular 1-under round in golf history. He'll take the 54-hole lead for the 14th time in major championship history (he'll be paired with Lee Westwood).

As you already know, Tiger has never lost a major when leading/co-leading after 54 holes. Here's his list of wins:: -- Mike McAllister (10:20 p.m.)

MAKE THAT TWO: Tiger Woods just moved to 1 under thanks to his second spectacular shot of the day, a chip from the rough just off the 17th green that bounced once and dropped in for a birdie. After a quick look of disbelief crossed his face, Tiger then looked almost embarrassed that the shot dropped in. It's been an inconsistent, wacky and thoroughly entertaining day from the world's top player. -- Mike McAllister (9:58 p.m.)

MEDIATE SLIPPING: Rocco Mediate has lost four strokes to par in the last four holes, due to a bogey on 13, a double-bogey at 15 and now a bogey at 16. That leaves him at even par for the tournament. It also means that leader Lee Westwood, who just finished at 2 under following his third round 70, is the only player currently under par. -- Mike McAllister (9:52 p.m.)

OLDEST CHAMP: Rocco Mediate will go into Sunday's final round seeking to become the oldest U.S. Open champ in history. At 45 years, 6 months, he would be older than Hale Irwin was when he won in 1990. Irwin was 45 years, 15 days. -- (9:49 p.m.)

ROUTE 66: We're not sure what the official yardage is going to be, but we've got Tiger Woods' eagle putt on the par-5 13th at 66 feet from the back edge of the green to the pin location just five yards from the front.

Whatever the length, it certainly raised his spirits, as he celebrated the putt with a double fist pump in moving to 1 under for the tournament.

Just a reminder -- the 13th was where Phil Mickelson took quadruple-bogey nine earlier in the day. -- Mike McAllister (9:05 p.m.)

OVER-PAR AVOIDANCE: Not only are Rocco Mediate (4 under) and Lee Westwood (2 under) the top two players on the leaderboard, but they're the only two players this week at Torrey Pines who have not been above par at any point of the tournament. -- Joan Alexander (8:36 p.m.)

LEADING EURO: Lee Westwood, who is currently in second and two strokes off the pace being set by Rocco Mediate, is bidding to become the first European winner of the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970 -- three years before Westwood was born.

The 35-year-old Englishman has finished in the top 10 of a major five times in 39 previous starts. Two of those have come at the U.S. Open -- a tie for fifth in 2000 and joint seventh in 1998.

Here are all of Westwood's major championship finishes:

AT THE TURN: Second-round leader Stuart Appleby just completed a tough nine holes. He posted five bogeys with no birdies, and had a four-putt green on the par-4 fourth on his way to a 41. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods has played even-par golf since double-bogeying the first hole.

Rocco Mediate has been the most impressive of the late starters, shooting a 34 on the front nine. He currently leads Lee Westwood by two shots. -- (8:15 p.m.)

Jobe

RISE OF JOBE: Brandt Jobe moved up the leaderboard with a third-round 69 that left him at 4-over going into Sunday.

"This week, you better hit it good because you're not going to make a lot of putts,'' he said. "By the end of the week, you just hope to have more bounce in the hole than bounce out. ''

And Saturday's round? "It was nice to get under par and stay there.''

Jobe grew up on poa greens at Cherry Hills, but he said they weren't as bumpy as Torrey's because Cherry Hills was a private course that could throw more money into them. And, well, this week just exposes how good the greens are year-round on the PGA TOUR.

"We play every single week on perfect greens,'' Jobe said. "It's a putting contest. This is different. It gets in your mind.'' -- Melanie Hauser (8:10 p.m.)

SINGH VS. BRITS: Vijay Singh sent a few sparks flying Monday when he told Telegraph reporter Lewine Mair that British golfers are a bit too comfortable when it comes to playing majors. (Click for story)

"Lots of them start out with the right intentions and the opportunities are there for them to become great," Singh told Mair. " Once they're on TOUR, though, they find themselves having a fine time and wondering, 'Why should I bother to work hard?' Their way of life is so comfortable that it doesn't matter if they have a bad tournament. The disappointment is not as big anymore. There's another event the following week and they just move on.''

And, Singh, the king of practice, hinted that the Brits don't put enough time in on the range.

"... Real winners are a different kettle of fish to the rest. They have one-track minds, whether they're playing golf or any other sport. Nothing, simply nothing, interferes with what they're doing. They don't worry about their hotel room, they don't worry about what they're going to eat for dinner. Instead they think, play and live their sport all the time."

Casey

Paul Casey played with Singh on Saturday and knew about the interview but wouldn't comment directly.

He did say, "My work rate is absolutely fine. Vijay's clearly is more than most other people's. But look at Monty (Colin Montgomerie). You rarely saw him on the range, but he is absolutely brilliant. ... I think overall, the British guys are working very hard.

"I think we have the desire and the hunger. I think what we need is for guys to break through and the belief is the thing. I think we need to get that going a little bit stronger.''

Luke Donald spoke to Mair earlier in the week. ""We're all different," said Donald. "Obviously, Vijay's way is not everyone's. After all, you have plenty of players who have done great things in golf without working all the time.'' -- Melanie Hauser (8:03 p.m.)

HUNTER IN THE HUNT: You've got to to like Hunter Mahan's spot right now. He just finished his third round with a 2-under 69, putting him at 2 over for the tournament. Unless Rocco Mediate starts pulling away -- at 3 under, he's the only player currently under par -- then Mahan will be in prime position when the final round begins Sunday.

Mahan, by the way, has competed in just two previous U.S. Opens, missing the cut in 2003 as an amateur, then finishing tied for 13th last year at Oakmont. -- Mike McAllister (7:25 p.m.)

Snedeker

GOING LOW: Brandt Snedeker has the low round of the day thus far, a 3-under 68 that started off with a shaky warm-up session followed by a bogey on the first hole.

But then Snedeker "started hitting some really quality shots off the tee and put myself in good position and made a few putts, made a few bombs out there, which is what you need." he said. Snedeker is 4-over for the tournament. -- Mike McAllister (7:20 p.m)

GOING FAST: Anthony Kim and Ryuji Imada, the first group of the day, raced through Torrey Pines South like they had an afternoon plane to catch. The two players, each shooting 2-under 70s, completed their rounds in 3 hours, 15 minutes. That's 48 minutes ahead of pace.

"I actually wouldn't mind playing faster than that," said Kim, now at 6 over for the tournament. "It was just a normal round. I've played in an hour and 50 minutes out here on TOUR by myself."

Added Imada, who's also at 6 over: "The last two days, it probably took us five hours and 30 minutes (playing threesomes). It's a grind out there. It's a long day when it takes that long. But today was a great day."

Incidentally, both players notched their first PGA TOUR wins earlier this year (Kim at Wachovia, Imada at the AT&T Classic). -- Mike McAllister (7:18 p.m.)

BACK NINE ANALYSIS: As the leaders make the turn to the back nine later this afternoon, they'll find a mixed bag of birdie chances and trouble spots.

It seems like the best opportunities for birdie will come on Nos. 10, 13 and 18. No. 10 is a 414-yard par 4, which means a solid drive leads to a short approach. There's no surprise really that Nos. 13 and 18 are scoreable, as they're both par 5s. It will take two mighty whacks to reach No. 13 in two shots -- it plays 614 yards. No. 18, on the other hand, is 573 yards and many players will take a crack at getting home in two. The only problem there, aside from the rough, is the pond that guards the green.

The leaders could face some issues on No. 11, a 221-yard par 3. The safe shot will be to play the ball to the middle of this green. The USGA has plenty of sucker pins for the third round and this is one of the highlights, placed in the back right corner just over a greenside bunker.

No. 12, which has played as the hardest hole at Torrey Pines this week, won't be a bargain either. It's a long, 504-yard par 4 and today the pin is tucked in the back left corner. A bogey here will feel like par. -- T.J. Auclair (7:10 p.m.)

Mickelson

PHIL'S 76: Phil Mickelson just finished his round of 5-over 76. Despite the quadruple-bogey 9 he suffered on the 13th, his round is just one shot worse than Friday's 75. He's now at 9 over for the tournament, 11 shots behind the leaders. That would seem to take him out of contention going into Sunday, but if the field can come back to him, who knows? -- Mike McAllister (7 p.m.)

WHO'LL STAY UNDER PAR?: Will anybody finish under par after the third round? Right now, the smart guess might be no.

Eleven players finished under par after the first round. That number was reduced to eight after Friday. And now there are just three players under par (Rocco Mediate, Stuart Appleby and Lee Westwood) find themselves under par.

That's good news for Tiger Woods, who has not yet found the kind of rhythm he enjoyed on his second nine Friday. Woods is 3 over in his first four holes today and doesn't look very comfortable. But with nobody running away with the tournament, he can afford to be patient and let his game come back to him. -- Mike McAllister (6:50 p.m.)

RUBBING SHOULDERS: Oklahoma State sophomore-to-be Rickie Fowler was pretty pumped earlier this week when he got to the range and saw a place open next to Tiger Woods. "No one was hitting next to him, so I thought, why not?'' recalled Fowler.

Fowler said the most impressive thing was Tiger's control. "He hits it the same every time." -- Melanie Hauser (6:48 p.m.)

Mediate

ROCCO'S THREE PUTT: One of the reasons Rocco Mediate has made his presence known on the leaderboard this week is his putting. He came into the third round tied for 16th in putts this week, needing just 56 putts through the first two rounds (Kevin Streelman was the leader with 49).

But Mediate just suffered his first three-putt of the tournament at the par-3 third, knocking him out of the outright lead. -- Mike McAllister (6:40 p.m.)

SHAKY START AGAIN: Tiger Woods has started his third round, and unfortunately for the world's top-ranked player, he began it much like he did two days ago -- with a double bogey.

Tiger drove into the rough, then landed his approach shot behind a bunker. His chip landed just off the back edge. Another chip and two putts resulted in a 6 at the par-4 first.

On Thursday, Tiger started his U.S. Open campaign with a double bogey, the first one he has shot this year. On Friday, he started his round with a bogey on the 10th hole -- although, after making the turn, he did birdie No. 1 en route to a second-nine 30 that moved him up the leaderboard. -- Mike McAllister (6:06 p.m.)

CASEY'S DAY: It was a frustrating round for Paul Casey. After four bogeys on the front nine -- including three in a row -- he then finished the day by dropping three shots in the final four holes. Including a double-bogey at the 18th.

"Disappointing, especially the way I finished,'' said Casey, whose third-round 76 left him at 12-over. "I played much better than that. I hit a couple of poor shots out there and again, just struggled on the greens.''

So, someone asked, is it off to the range, the putting green or the Jacuzzi? Casey laughed. "A padded cell might be nice."

Casey, like so many, no fan of the poa greens, has five top-15 finishes in majors -- all in the Open (best finish T-10, 2007) and the Masters (best, T-6, 2004) -- but everyone has expected him to contend more often.

"I think I have put too much pressure on myself and felt like I had to do something extra special coming in when all it really takes in a Major is good solid golf and eliminating mistakes rather than actually going out and trying to hit miraculous golf shots,'' he said. "You don't need to do that. You just need to be patient and put the ball in play and manage yourself and your golf ball. I'm learning that.'' -- Melanie Hauser (6 p.m.)

FASHION SENSE: Golf Channel/Golf Digest fashion/style doctor Marty Hackel gave major snaps to Camilo Villegas' pink pants and white shirt ensemble Saturday. Others high on his third-round list? Davis Love's blue shirt and white pants and Luke Donald, who had on blue pants and a blue shirt. In addition, Hackel was impressed at the number of white pants being worn in the third round-- Melanie Hauser (5:53 p.m.)

PHIL'S QUAD: Did Phil Mickelson's U.S. Open chances disappear on the par-5 13th? He just took a quadruple-bogey nine, thanks in part to a tough hole location in the front of the green.

Mickelson, one of the PGA TOUR's best short-game artists, tried three times to finess a short chip shot onto the front of the green. All three times his ball landed just short of the green, rolling back to basically where he had struck the shot due to a severe slope in front of the green.

Mickelson finally landed his fourth chip attempt past the hole, then three-putted for his quadruple, the worst score he has ever recorded at a hole in a U.S. Open. That drops him to 9 over for the tournament going into Saturday's final stretch. -- Mike McAllister (5:45 p.m.)

PLAYING THE 18TH: The 18th hole proves decisive at many major championships. More often than not, though, the 72nd hole is remembered for disasters -- not for someone who makes a birdie to win, a la Phil Mickelson at the 2003 Masters.

The 18th hole at Torrey Pines could easily figure into the outcome come Sunday, and very possibily, in a positive manner. Through the first two rounds, the 573-yard par 5, which is guarded by a pond in the front has played easier than any other, relinquishing three eagles and 119 birdies against 116 pars, 32 bogeys and 11 others.

"I think they've done a great job," Brandt Snedeker, who has made three pars at the 18th. "It's reachable for pretty much everybody in the field and it gives you a great chance of thinking about it. Today's a very tough pin and some guys are going to have some long irons into that hole and it's going to be very tough keeping it on the green with that pin position.

"It makes it play exciting. Guys are going to be making 6s there. It's better than playing it all the way back where only two guys are going to have a chance to reach it and everybody else are going to be laying up. So everyone is going to be playing it the same way. It makes it fun and different." -- Helen Ross (5:42 p.m.)

Singh

VIJAY UPDATE: Although Vijay Singh owns the longest active cuts streak at the U.S. Open with 14 consecutive starts, he will be in unfamiliar territory when he starts Sunday's final round.

After shooting a 5-over 76 on Saturday, Singh is now 12 over for the tournament and currently sits in a tie for 70th. Since starting his cuts streak, Singh's worst position when starting the final round is 77th in 1997. His next worst was 53rd in 2001. Other than that, he hasn't started a final round worse than 25th. -- Mike McAllister (5:35 p.m.)

TIGER'S 36-HOLE COMEBACKS: Of Tiger Woods' 13 major championships, five have come after trailing when starting the third round. None, however, have come at the U.S. Open. He'll tee off today one stroke behind leader Stuart Appleby. -- Joan Alexander (5:20 p.m.)

PHIL GOES WITH DRIVER: He didn't have a driver in his bag for the first two days, but Phil Mickelson has changed his approach for Saturday's third round.

NBC reports that Mickelson is carrying a driver today, having taken out one of his wedges. Mickelson also will use a 3-wood with significantly less loft today.

Mickelson generated lots of discussion Thursday when he opted not to go with a driver, despite facing the longest course in U.S. Open history at 7,643 yards. At the time, Mickelson said, "It will have to rain or soften the fairways for me to put ... a club that goes longer than that 3-wood (in his bag)." -- Mike McAllister (4:33 p.m.)

APPLEBY AS LEADER: For the eighth time in his PGA TOUR career, Stuart Appleby will go into the third round as the tournament leader/co-leader (he tees off at 6 p.m. ET today). Twice in those previous seven times he's completed the deal and won the event. -- Joan Alexander (4:15 p.m.)

AMATEURS LEFT: Eleven amateurs were in the U.S. Open field when play began Thursday morning. Three will play this weekend. That's the second highest total for amateurs making the cut since Phil Mickelson was an amateur in 1990 (four made the cut in 2004).

To follow the amateurs, click on their scorecards below: -- (4 p.m.)

NOTES JINX: It's happened a few times this week, so it's not a surprise that it happened again today.

Moments after reporting on the impressive round Brandt Snedeker had going, he went and made a bogey on the 15th hole. It's OK though. The Nashville native parred in after that to put the finishing touches on a 3-under 68 -- the best score of the early finishers. -- T.J. Auclair (4:13 p.m.)

GOING LOW EARLY: Brandt Snedeker, one of the rising stars on the PGA TOUR, is making a big move in the third round of the U.S. Open.

Snedeker began the day at 7 over, making the cut on the number. But, with four birdies and an eagle against two bogeys through 14 holes on Saturday, Snedeker has jumped to 3 over.

The second-year PGA TOUR player has plenty of good memories at Torrey Pines. In 2007, he fired a career-low 11-under 61in the first round of the Buick Invitational. However, that wasn't on the South Course. It was on the adjacent North Course, which is serving as a makeshift driving range, parking lot and hospitality area this week.

Snedeker wound of finishing third that week in just his third start as a rookie on the PGA TOUR. -- T.J. Auclair (3:45 p.m.)

TWO-THIRDS SUPERGROUP: As if Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott didn't see enough of each other while playing with Tiger Woods in the first two rounds, they're paired again on moving day, each playing tied for 35th at 4 over. The two have just teed off.

Although Mickelson failed to make the cut last year at Oakmont, he's not used to playing so far back going into the weekend of a U.S. Open. Only once since 1996 has he been farther back when starting the third round (45th in 2005). Five times in his last 10 Opens has he started the third round in the top 10. That includes his two second-round leads in 1999 and 2004.

Mickelson and Scott obviously was overshadowed by Tiger's charge up the leaderboard late Friday, but that doesn't mean that should be overlooked today. It'll be interesting to see how they fare without Tiger in their group. -- Mike McAllister (3 p.m.)

THE 14TH HOLE ISSUE: There is still debate going on within the ranks of the Championship Committee about the setup of the 14th hole for Sunday's final round.

The regular teeing ground was in use again Saturday on the 435-yard par-4, but there has been continual discussion about whether or not to move up to the forward teeing area for Sunday to turn the hole into a 277-yard hole that some players might think about trying to drive the green, which is protected by front bunkers and tucked into a canyon that lurks left and behind.

"I was up with Mike Davis (senior director of rules and competitions) at 4:30 this morning going over it again," said David Fay, executive director of the U.S. Golf Association. "We were walking through the whole scenario again of what the options are."

Jim Hyler, head of the Championship Committee, said Friday night that no decision has been made. "I'm not jerking your chain," Hyler said. "We're still talking about it. We have to look at the weather forecast and the wind." A high of 70 with west to southwest winds are forecast for Sunday's final round. -- Dave Shedloski (2:15 p.m.)

SATURDAY'S COURSE SETUP: According to an USGA news release, the putting greens remain in the high 13s on the Stimpmeter. Water was applied to the greens Friday night. "As slightly higher winds are predicted today, extra precautions were taken to ensure greens did not become overly firm," according to the USGA.

Yardages and other pertinent set-up information for Saturday's third round:
• Hole 3: 189 yards
• Hole 4: Moved tee markers up 40 yards (448 yards) to off-set the difficult front left hole location
• Hole 8: 181 yards
• Hole 10: 400 yards (moved 14 yards up to left tee -- a bit more challenging angle for left-to-right canted fairway)
• Hole 11: 215 yards (used next tee up with challenging back right hole location. Tee markers set left to better allow play off ridge of green)
• Hole 12: Moved up 28 yards (478 yards to middle) to next tee marker with challenging back left hole location
• Hole 13: With the challenging front center hole location, the most forward of three teeing grounds (539 yards to middle) has been used.
• Hole 14: Regular teeing ground (435 yards).
• Hole 16: 232 yards (back right tee).
• Hole 18: 530 yards to center (two teeing ground forward). -- (1:30 p.m.)

Fowler

TOUGH HOLE LOCATIONS: Even though the June gloom has yet to lift this morning, meaning the course remains relatively soft, early starters in the third round of the U.S. Open aren't gaining much purchase in the scoring department. Among the 12 players who have ventured on the course, only one, Rickie Fowler, is under par today, having birdied the second hole.

The South Course has yielded plenty of birdies in the first two rounds -- 654 of them -- but they could be harder to come by Saturday after looking at the hole locations, which are tucked in some very unsavory places.

Most notable are the pins on the three par-5 holes. All three are perched on the front ends of those greens, with the long 13th just five paces on and the 18th also five paces on and five from the right edge, away from the water, but a tough corner nevertheless. It appears as if laying up and hitting wedges into those holes might be the more prudent play, especially as course firms up. -- Dave Shedloski (1:02 p.m.)

PIN PLACEMENTS: Want to plot the yardage of the pin placements from the edges of the green in Saturday's third round? Here's some helpful information: -- (12:50 p.m.)

WEATHER FORECAST: According to meteorologist Greg Quinn, the winds will remain light for players with early tee times, but could pick up by late morning. There's a slight chance of rain later today. -- (11 a.m.)