OLYMPIA FIELDS (Illinois), June 15: Jim Furyk sank a curling 25-foot birdie putt at the last to forge three strokes clear in the US Open third round on Saturday as Tiger Woods’s title defence was left in tatters.

The 33-year-old Furyk, co-leader overnight with Vijay Singh, carded a three-under-par 67 after mixing five birdies with two bogeys at a sun-drenched Olympia Fields.

Woods, bidding this week for a third US Open crown in four years, dropped out of contention with a five-over-par 75 — his worst score as a professional in eight US Open starts — after a fan put him off his second shot at the par-five first.

Furyk, who possesses one of the most unorthodox swings in the game, finished at a tournament record 10-under 200 on a day when most of the 68-strong field struggled to maintain any momentum.

One of the straightest hitters in the game, Furyk shattered the previous 54-hole mark of 203, first set by George Burns at Merion in 1981, and later equalled by Tze-Chung Chen at Oakland Hills in 1985 and by Lee Janzen at Baltusrol in 1993.

Twice major winner Singh, who became the fourth player in US Open history to card a 63 on Friday, bogeyed the last three holes for a 72, slipping back into a tie for third at five-under 205 with Nick Price (69).

Former world number one Price, after a sizzling start featuring five birdies in the first six holes, stumbled round the turn but also managed to birdie the last to keep alive his hopes of a fourth career major title.

Australia’s Stephen Leaney, who like Furyk birdied the 18th, moved into second place with a gutsy 68 while American journeyman Dicky Pride, whose 66 was the best round of the day, ended up in a share of fifth at four-under 206.

Defending champion Woods, four under overnight after a second-round 66, endured a frustrating day as his title hopes all but disappeared.

The world number one mixed six bogeys with a solitary birdie to finish at one-over 211.

Woods had hit a perfect drive at the 576-yard opening hole but then pushed his approach into the right front bunker as the spectator whistled.

After growling in the direction of the offending fan, he splashed out to 15 feet but was unable to sink the birdie putt.

He dropped his first shot of the day at the par-four fifth, where he hit his approach through the back of the green, another on nine, where he lipped out from six feet, and ran up his third bogey at the 444-yard 10th.

He was never able to recover after that.

Most of the early fireworks came from Price, who had fired a five-under-par 65 on Friday to vault into contention.

He picked up shots on one and two, and then struck a nine-iron approach to 12 feet at the 389-yard third for birdie number three, tying overnight pacesetters Singh and Furyk for the lead.

Leading third round scores (US unless stated, a-denotes amateur):

200 — Jim Furyk 67, 66, 67.

203 — Stephen Leaney (Australia) 67, 68, 68.

205 — Nick Price (Zimbabwe) 71, 65, 69; Vijay Singh (Fiji) 70, 63, 72.

206 — Dicky Pride 71, 69, 66; Ian Leggatt (Canada) 68, 70, 68; Eduardo Romero (Argentina) 70, 66, 70; Jonathan Byrd 69, 66, 71.

207 — Mark O’Meara 72, 68, 67; Mark Calcavecchia 68, 72, 67; Billy Mayfair 69, 71, 67.

208 — Mike Weir (Canada) 73, 67, 68; Ernie Els (South Africa) 69, 70, 69; Justin Leonard 66, 70, 72.

209 — Chad Campbell 70, 70, 69; David Toms 72, 67, 70; Tim Petrovic 69, 70, 70; Tom Byrum 69, 69, 71; Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) 69, 67, 73.

210 — Jay Williamson 72, 69, 69; Brett Quigley 65, 74, 71; Stewart Cink 70, 68, 72; Robert Damron 69, 68, 73.

211 — Scott Verplank 76, 67, 78; John Rollins 73, 70, 68; Justin Rose (Britain) 70, 71, 70; Hidemichi Tanaka (Japan) 69, 71, 71; Darron Stiles 71, 68, 72; Cliff Kresge 69, 70, 72; Darren Clarke (Britain) 70, 69, 72; Dan Forsman 71, 67, 73; Tiger Woods 70, 66, 75.

212 — Kenny Perry 72, 71, 69; Steve Lowery 70, 72, 70; Lee Janzen 72, 68, 72; Jonathan Kaye 70, 70, 72; Kirk Triplett 71, 68, 73; Tom Watson 65, 72, 75.

213 — Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 69, 72, 72; Bernhard Langer (Germany) 70, 70, 73; Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 72, 68, 73.

214 — Colin Montgomerie (Britain) 69, 74, 71; Fred Funk 70, 73, 71; Chris DiMarco 72, 71, 71; Sergio Garcia (Spain) 69, 74, 71; Kevin Sutherland 71, 71, 72; John Maginnes 72, 70, 72; Woody Austin 74, 64, 76; Brandt Jobe 70, 68, 76.

215 — Fred Couples 70, 72, 73; Loren Roberts 69, 72, 74; Peter Lonard (Australia) 72, 69, 74; Phil Mickelson 70, 70, 75; Alex Cejka (Germany) 73, 66, 76.

216 — Retief Goosen (South Africa) 71, 72, 73; Niclas Fasth (Sweden) 75, 68, 73; Olin Browne 72, 70, 74.

217 — Brian Davis (Britain) 71, 72, 74; Charles Howell III 70, 73, 74; a-Trip Kuehne 74, 67, 76.—Reuters