Steve Stricker hit every green in regulation, holed out for an eagle from 112 yards, shooting a smooth 64 enroute to the final pairing on Sunday.  Aaron Baddeley birdied the last two holes for a 65 to join him.  They'll play right behind Tiger Woods, whose 65 left him a single shot behind.

"That's probably the highest score I could have shot," he said. "If I'd made a few putts, it really could have been a deep round. I was really hitting it pretty good but I left a few putts right on the edge."  It was marvelous golf, on a marvelous day. Mr. Stricker is playing some of the best golf of his career and may be the hottest player on tour at the moment.  "I guess you just get in periods where it's very easy to concentrate, and I've been [concentrating] very well," Stricker said. "There hasn't been a lot of things that have bothered me, and when I have played a bad hole, I really have done well with just letting it go."  He hasn't miss a green since the 13th hole of the second round, and missed 5 birdie putts inside of 12 feet.  "I had real good opportunities," he said. "But at this point, you can't be greedy. Nobody makes them all. And when you do, you have one of those '60' rounds."<!--more-->

Mr. Baddeley, playing behind both Mr. Woods and Mr. Stricker, quietly went about his business until holing a 30 footer on the 17th hole and a 5 footer on 18.  He knows that of the three leaders he'll be odd man out with the crowds.  "You've got roars, and then you've got Tiger roars, and then you've got the hometown crowd roar, and then you've got someone else's roar," Baddeley said,  "But you could tell Steve's roars out there today. When he holed his second shot on No. 8, you just knew that was a Steve Stricker roar out there."  Mr. Stricker played his college golf at Illinois and lives just over the border in Wisconsin. 

It's the third time Mr. Baddeley will be playing in the final group since the US Open.  At Oakmont he shot 80 and dropped to 13th place.  At the Duestch Bank in Boston he shot 70 but still lost ground and finished 5th. 

Justin Rose will be paired with Mr. Woods after his 69 left him five shots back. "I wasn't playing terribly, but I felt my posture got a little slack and I bumped up my posture after I hit my 11th tee shot, and from then on I hit a few better tee shots," Rose said. "On a day like today, when you needed to be in the fairway to make birdies, it was a little frustrating starting out. And the way Steve (Stricker) was playing, it felt even worse - but I'm happy with the way I finished."

Jonathan Byrd who started the day tied with Mr. Baddeley shot even par 71 to fall six shots behind.  "You make par out here you get run over," Woods said.

Mr. Stricker was paired with Mr. Woods the first two days of the tournament. Asked if he was disappointed not to play with Woods in the final round, Stricker smiled and said, "Probably not."  After watching what normally happens to guys who play in the group with Mr. Woods on Sundays I'm sure he's not at all saddened to be playing with Mr. Baddeley instead. 

As for the tournament itself,  I miss the Western Open.  It just doesn't seem right to be playing golf at Cog Hill in September rather than July and the attendence figures back that up.  Thursday's numbers were about 24,000, Friday's at 35,000, and Saturday came in at about 45,000.  A lot lower than the summer when familys could attend during the week because the kids were not in school.  We'll see how the start of the NFL season affects not only attendence at the tournament but the television numbers as well.  Change is not always a good thing.