Tiger Woods battles to stay patient after birdie putts dry up at BMW

Tiger Woods admitted he found it tough to contain his frustration despite firing a bogey-free 66 in the third round of the BMW Championship.

Woods made four birdies to close on 12 under, but he felt his score should have been much lower as he failed to back up his solid long game on the greens for the second day running.

After a delayed start following torrential rain in Philadelphia, Woods got off to a flying start as he rolled in birdie putts from 12 feet on the opening two holes, but the putts dried up thereafter as he put together a run of 11 straight pars.

The 42-year-old missed four good chances to advance further up the leaderboard from 10-foot range, although he ended his disappointment when he finally got one to drop at the par-three 14th.

Woods added another birdie with a nice pitch and putt at the 16th, and he parred safely in to stay within striking distance of the lead, although he conceded he would probably need at least a 62 to contend for the title.

"Today was one of those days where it was really frustrating because I hit the ball well enough to shoot a low score," said Woods, who was constantly encouraged to stay patient by caddie Joe LaCava.

"I got off to a quick start, birdieing the first two, and Joey was tripping in my ear to stay patient out there because I was getting a little hot. I was looking up on the board and everyone seemed like they were three under through eight or five under through 9. I was only two under par, and I wasn't doing much.

"I'm going to have to shoot one of those 61s or 62s just to have a chance. The golf course is soft and everyone is making birdies. You can be aggressive. I've got to take a run at it, whether it's tomorrow or Monday."

The damp conditions forced tournament officials to allow preferred lies on the fairways, and Woods believes the par was closer to 67 than 70 with only six of the 69-man field over par for the third round.

"At the beginning of the week we took a look at it and we thought the winning score would be near to 20 under, and it's got even softer since," he added. "Now with the ball in hand, you drive it halfway decent in the fairway and you're throwing darts at the flag.

"There's really no fear. And so, yeah, I'm sure the mean today is probably what, 67 or maybe somewhere around there, maybe a little bit lower than that."

Early start alert: Due to the threat of bad weather, live final-round coverage of the BMW Championship will now begin at 1pm on Sunday. Red button on Sky Sports Golf, and also on Sky Sports Mix.