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Woods hands Sabbatini Wachovia lead

06/05/2007

Tiger Woods dropped shots at the final two holes to hand Rory Sabbatini a one-shot lead at the Wachovia Championship in North Carolina.

However, Sabbatini could argue that he deserved his lead after equalling the course record with an eight-under round of 64 on the third day's play that puts him on 11-under for the tournament.

Woods shared the overnight lead and extended his advantage with a birdie at the first hole. He picked up another at the par-four fifth before a run of four birdies in five holes after the turn.

The world number one looked to be establishing a dominant position at the top of the leaderboard before disaster struck.

Meanwhile Sabbatini had put himself in contention with an error-free round that saw him rocket up the leaderboard from his starting position of seventh after two rounds.

The South African eagled the first hole before picking up a further three birdies on the front nine. He added three more on the back nine and was able to claim the lead when Woods fell back in the final two holes.

Sabbatini said: "I just managed to keep the ball in play, and the rain slowing the greens up just a touch made it a little easier to be a little aggressive with the putter out there."

He also said he was looking forward to the challenge of taking on Woods in the final pairing.

Overnight co-leader Vijay Singh is still within touching distance after carding a three-under round that leaves him two shots behind Sabbatini on nine-under, tied with Arron Oberholser.

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