Sergio Garcia is 18 holes away from completing a dream return to Carnoustie - scene of his biggest golfing nightmare eight years ago.

Not even the lowest round ever in an Open at the Scottish links, or being clearly troubled when he injured someone with a wayward shot just as Tiger Woods had done earlier in the day, could knock the 27-year-old Spaniard off course.

American Steve Stricker was the player to post a marvellous seven under par 64, one off the lowest round in any major, but he did it from seven strokes back at halfway.

And Garcia was in no mood to lose the grip he had established with his opening 65 on Thursday.

His attempt to become the first European to win a major since Paul Lawrie on the same course in 1999 continued with a three under 68 and so Garcia goes into the last day nine under and three ahead of Stricker.

Woods, who came with high hopes of becoming the first player since Peter Thomson in 1956 to record a hat-trick of Claret Jugs, is eight adrift and “only” joint 15th after a 69.

Considering he has not had to come fr even one behind on the final day for any of his 12 majors it looks a task beyond even the world number one.

Garcia, relieved that the predicted bad weather did not arrive until right at the end, said: “It’s been a wonderful experience and I hope I can play well enough to finish the winner tomorrow.”

On the incident at the 17th involving a scoreboard operator he commented: “You never want that to happen. When you see the person lying down it’s not a good feeling, but fortunately I was able to shake his hand and he said ‘I’m fine’.

“He was a little shaken up, but I managed to save a great four.”

Among those between Woods and Garcia are Ryder Cup partners Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington and England’s Paul Broadhurst, a born-again golfer if ever there was one.

But in joint third place on three under they - like Ernie Els, Korean KJ Choi and Americans Chris DiMarco and Stewart Cink - have a massive six shots to make up.

Every one of them will wake up hoping for something akin to 1999 when Lawrie, retrieved a 10-shot deficit, three of them when Jean Van de Velde triple-bogeyed the last when three clear.

There is one thing about Carnoustie and it is that it is never over until it is over. But surely there will be no repeat of that.

However, Els, who had to come back from a triple bogey eight on the sixth for his 68, warned: “Obviously Sergio is going for his first major and he is going to have a lot to think about.

“I’ve been in that position.”

Not for as long as Garcia, though. Els won the US Open at 24.

Only four years ago, remember, Thomas Bjorn was three ahead with four to play at Sandwich and could not complete the job.

This is Garcia’s first trip to Carnoustie since that unforgettable - much though he might prefer to - experience when he was just 19, but already the Irish Open champion.

Garcia had horror rounds of 89 and 83 for a 30 over par aggregate. Not only does that 89 remain the highest round of his professional career, the 83 remains his second highest.

A month later he insisted at the US PGA that “it’s history” and he proved he had not suffered any lasting scars by finishing second to Tiger Woods that week.

That was the first of 12 top 10 finishes in majors and a year ago he went out with Woods in the last group at Hoylake, but once again could not match him.

Never has he had such an opportunity as this, though, to break through into the major winners’ enclosure at long last and follow in the footsteps of compatriots Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Ballesteros announced his retirement on Monday and on Tuesday Olazabal pulled out because of a knee injury. Garcia was not quite left on his own to fly the Spanish flag - Miguel Angel Jimenez was joint third at halfway - but maybe he sensed that this was his moment to step forward and show in a major the talent he has displayed in all four Ryder Cups he has now played.

First man to finish under par was Swede Pelle Edberg, enjoying the month of his golfing life. Third and fourth the last two weeks - and that after never finishing in the top nine on the European Tour before - he surged from three over to one under with a bogey-free 67 finished in style with a birdie.

In the next group Justin Rose matched the score and the total, but with the leaders only just setting off at that point they had no idea whether it would give them a chance in the final round.

Woods, joint 20th at halfway, could do no better than join Edberg and Rose and a 69 was certainly not what he was hoping for.

The round included laying out a woman on the sixth when his wild second shot hit her on the head, but there were also four birdies and his fighting qualities enabled him to play the last eight in one under to keep his hopes alive.

“At least I have a chance at it,” said the world number one. “This is a major and you just hang in there and grind it out.

“The forecast was wrong today, but tomorrow it’s supposed to be howling. I have to play a little better, that’s for sure.

“Paul (Lawrie) came back from 10 back, so certainly you can do it on this course.”

DiMarco, runner-up to Woods at Hoylake a year ago, had already come in with a 66 for three under by then, but it was Stricker’s round that grabbed everyone’s attention.

Only two years ago the 40-year-old did not even have a US Tour card, but he has rebuilt his career and he could now go one better than he did at the 1998 US PGA, when he was second to Vijay Singh.

After setting off with three straight birdies Stricker picked up more shots on the fifth, seventh, 13th and 14th.

Stricker sank a huge putt for par on the next and by getting up and down from off the last three greens he handed in his 64 and waited to see where it left him.

Garcia had the entire back nine still to play at that point and he began it two ahead of Stricker.

Two ahead both after his first day 65 and his Friday 71, Garcia had resumed with a 18-foot putt and then reeled off six pars in a row before a glorious iron to 10 feet gave him another birdie.

A pitch to two feet on the 13th stretched his advantage and although he three-putted the 14th it was for a par five.

The most worrying moment after that came when he pulled his second to the 17th. It might have gone in the gorse, but instead struck a photographer, who like the woman Woods had hit required medical attention.

There was also a slight rules drama over Garcia’s next shot. He took a practice swing in front of the ball, but Royal and Ancient Director of Rules David Rickman looked at a recording and decided it was far enough in front not to affect the shot.

Garcia hit a marvellous chip to two feet and then two mighty irons onto the final green to the cheers of the crowd.

“The R&A told me about the practice swing after I signed the scorecard and they said I was fine.

“I made sure I was quite far away from the ball and a little left of where I was hitting.”

Collated third-round scores (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71):

204 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 65 71 68

207 Steve Stricker (USA) 71 72 64

210 KJ Choi (Kor) 69 69 72, Ernie Els (Rsa) 72 70 68, Chris DiMarco (USA) 74 70 66, Stewart Cink (USA) 69 73 68, Paul McGinley 67 75 68, Paul Broadhurst 71 71 68, Padraig Harrington 69 73 68

211 Vijay Singh (Fij) 72 71 68, Jim Furyk (USA) 70 70 71, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 69 70 72, Mike Weir (Can) 71 68 72, Andres Romero (Arg) 71 70 70

212 J J Henry (USA) 70 71 71, Tiger Woods (USA) 69 74 69, Justin Rose 75 70 67, Rich Beem (USA) 70 73 69, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 72 73 67

213 Nick Watney (USA) 72 71 70, Lucas Glover (USA) 71 72 70, Markus Brier (Aut) 68 75 70, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 68 73 72

214 Paul Casey 72 73 69, Rodney Pampling (Aus) 70 72 72, Pat Perez (USA) 73 70 71, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 70 71 73, Zach Johnson (USA) 73 73 68, Nick Dougherty 71 74 69, Lee Westwood 71 70 73

215 Jerry Kelly (USA) 74 70 71, Hunter Mahan (USA) 73 73 69, Adam Scott (Aus) 73 70 72, Boo Weekley (USA) 68 72 75, Richard Green (Aus) 72 73 70, Jonathan Byrd (USA) 73 72 70

216 Won Joon Lee (Aus) 73 73 70, Arron Oberholser (USA) 73 71 72, Charley Hoffman (USA) 75 69 72, Mark Calcavecchia (USA) 74 70 72, Shaun Micheel (USA) 70 76 70, Ian Poulter 73 73 70, Ben Curtis (USA) 72 74 70, Ross Bain 73 71 72

217 Brian Davis 74 72 71, Rory McIlroy 68 76 73, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 75 69 73, John Senden (Aus) 72 74 71, Scott Verplank (USA) 72 73 72

218 Michael Campbell (Nzl) 68 78 72, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 70 75 73, Ryan Moore (USA) 72 72 74

219 Anders Hansen (Den) 72 73 74, David Howell 72 74 73, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 74 69 76, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 70 75 74, Alastair Forsyth 70 71 78, Luke Donald 70 76 73, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 70 72 77, Mark Foster 76 70 73, Sandy Lyle 73 73 73

220 Peter Hanson (Swe) 70 74 76, Kevin Stadler (USA) 75 71 74, Sean O’Hair (USA) 71 75 74, Tom Lehman (USA) 73 73 74, Toru Taniguchi (Jpn) 72 72 76

222 Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 71 74 77, Mark O’Meara (USA) 74 72 76, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 72 71 79

225 Jon Bevan 73 73 79

Source - www.sportinglife.com