Woods and Tway Poised for Showdown

Bob Tway knows that a tie for first is not a safe place when Tiger Woods is the co-leader.

“He has a lot of attributes that I will never have,” Tway said Saturday afternoon after finishing the third round tied with Woods in the National Car Rental Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Just don’t look for Tway to start waving a white flag.

Even a loss to Woods the last time they went head-to-head is a reminder to Tway that he is capable of winning a tournament for the first time in four years.

They were paired in the second round of the Match Play Championship in February and staged a brilliant duel. Neither led by more than one hole, and Woods hung on for a 1-up victory only when Tway missed a 10-foot par putt on the final hole.

“If you’re able to hit the good shots and make some putts, then anything can happen,” Tway said after his six-under 66.

On Saturday, it was Woods who had the long putt on the final hole, a 40-footer which he made for birdie to tie Tway at 18-under 198.

“I’ll sleep a lot better tonight because of that putt,” said Woods, who shot his third consecutive 66.

The odds will favor Woods winning for the sixth time in his past nine tournaments. He has won the last nine times in which he had at least a share of the lead after 54 holes.

“If he’s on and you’re on, he’s probably going to beat you,” Tway said.

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Bruce Fleisher put together another solid round, a four-under 67, and retained his one-stroke lead in the $1-million Kaanapali Classic on the island of Maui.

Bidding to win his seventh Senior PGA Tour tournament of the year, Fleisher had a 36-hole total of 132. One stroke back after a second-round 66 was Tom Jenkins, a first-time winner this year at the Bell Atlantic Classic.

Hale Irwin, who started the round one stroke behind Fleisher, double-bogeyed No. 1 and finished with a 71. He is five strokes behind Fleisher in their personal duel for the money title as they sit 1-2 on the list with three tournaments to go.

Fleisher leads Irwin, the tour’s leading money winner the last two years, by $216,183.

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Casey Martin, fighting to win his PGA Tour card, shot a five-over 77 and was tied for 24th with six other players after three rounds of the Nike Tour Championship at Dothan, Ala.

The top 15 finishers on the money list earn their exempt status to play on the PGA Tour next year. Martin, who is disabled and uses a cart to get around the course, entered the final event of the season 12th on the money list. Sixteen of the players ahead of him on the leaderboard are behind him on the money list.

Even if Martin wins his card, it is uncertain if he will be able to play on the PGA Tour next year because whether he can use a cart on the Tour has yet to be resolved.

Bob Heintz, 16th on the money list, shot a three-over 75 but still managed to hold on to a share of the lead with Ryan Howison, who shot a 69, at five-under 211.