Tiger Woods lost his three-shot advantage in six holes Saturday in the Australian Masters. By the end of the day, he was happy to simply be tied for the lead with Greg Chalmers and James Nitties. Woods hit one poor shot after another, put himself in bad positions and had to scramble for an even-par 72. The only good news for the world's No. 1 player was that he still had a chance. Chalmers, who hasn't won in his native Australia since 1998, had a 69 despite missing a 6-foot par putt on the 16th hole and a birdie putt on the 18th from about that range. Nitties, frustrated early as putts refused to fall, played bogey-free for his 69 and will give Kingston Heath an All-Australian final pairing. Not only did Woods lose his lead, he lost his cool.

After missing a 5-foot birdie putt on the 12th, he hit his driver well to the right on the 354-yard 13th hole. Woods threw his driver into the ground and it bounced up and into the gallery, where one surprised fan caught the club and returned it. "That was my mistake," Woods said. "I got hot and let go of the club."

He wasn't in the best of moods even before he teed off. Woods had what he described as a terrible session on the practice range. He took that game to the course, missing most of the shots to the right, starting with a 3-iron into the hay on the easy par-5 opening hole that he failed to birdie for the first time all week. It never got better.

His lone birdies were a 35-foot putt on the second hole and a two-putt on the 14th. With a chance to take the outright lead, Woods missed a 10-foot birdie try on the final hole to remain tied at 10-under 206. "Today was reflective of how I warmed up," he said. "I'm very fortunate to be tied for the lead. I played myself into a tie. I could have played myself out of the tournament. If he fails to win Sunday, it would be the first time in his career that Woods has blown 36-hole leads in three straight tournaments.