TIGER Woods dropped out of the lead with late bogeys for the second straight day.

And that left former Masters champion Zach Johnson with a two-shot advantage after three rounds of the Quail Hollow Championship yesterday morning.

Johnson was among the few who survived the 'Green Mile,' the three-hole span of closing holes at Quail Hollow, North Carolina.

He made a 12-foot birdie on the 17th that carried him to a 4-under 68 and a chance to win for the second time this year.

Johnson, at 11-under 205, was two shots ahead of Woods, Lucas Glover and George McNeill, all of whom bogeyed at least the last hole.

The final two groups, including Johnson and McNeill, had to wait out a one-hour-12-minute storm delay before finishing the 18th hole.

US PGA Tour officials blew the horn to stop play right after Woods staggered to the finish-line with a 70.

Woods birdied all of the par-fives, including a two-putt from 12 feet on the 15th hole that put him in the outright lead at 11-under par for the first time in a third round that featured seven players atop the leaderboard at some point.

That he would drop two shots at the end was not terribly shocking, given the difficulty of the holes.

What bothered Woods was he had a seven-iron in his hand both times - a poor approach to the 17th that led to a three-putt from 60 metres, and a slight shift in the wind that kept his ball right of the green on the 18th, followed by a poor chip to six feet and failure to save par.

'That's not the way you want to finish,' Woods said. 'But I've got a shot going into tomorrow.'

Glover got into the mix with an eagle on No. 7 and did not drop a shot until he pulled his tee-shot near the creek on the 18th, missed the green to the right and took bogey for a 68.

McNeill also was bogey-free until he three-putted from 40 metres on the 17th, then found a fairway bunker on the 18th that kept him from reaching the green, giving him a 70.

US Amateur champion Danny Lee, the 18-year-old New Zealander in his second tournament as a pro, appeared to be poised to make a run as the youngest winner in US PGA Tour history.

Tough day

He was among those tied for the lead midway through the round and was bogey-free on a tough day until he was swallowed up at the end.

He pulled a seven-iron left into the water on the 17th to make double-bogey, then dropped another shot at the 18th for a bogey.

All that work, and he had only a 70 to show for it. Even so, he was five shots behind at six-under 210.

'The last two holes really let me down,' Lee said. 'New start tomorrow.'

Johnson already has won this year in Honolulu and will play in the final pairing with Glover, whose only Tour victory came four years ago at Disney World when he holed out a bunker shot at the 18th.

Even so, Woods being only two shots behind, is enough to get their attention.

'I'm only two back, which is nice,' Woods said.

AP

LEADERBOARD

205: Zach Johnson 70-67-68

207: Lucas Glover 68-71-68, Tiger Woods 65-72-70, George McNeill 69-68-70

208: Brendon De Jonge 72-69-67, Sean O'Hair 69-72-67, Bubba Watson 71-65-72, Retief Goosen 68-68-72

209: Yang Yong Eun 72-71-66, David Toms 71-71-67, Ross Fisher 73-67-69, Davis Love III 70-69-70, Jason Dufner 67-71-71

210: Martin Kaymer 71-70-69, Danny Lee 71-69-70, Jeff Klauk 69-71-70, Jim Furyk 71-66-73