Tiger Woods waves after making a birdie putt on the 12th hole during the third round of the 89th PGA Golf Championship at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma yesterday. - AP

TULSA, Oklahoma, (Reuters/AP):

Tiger Woods stretched his lead to three strokes over Canadian Stephen Ames at the United States PGA Championship yesterday, taking dead aim on his 13th major title.

Woods, who held a two-shot overnight lead, posted a one-under-par 69 for a seven-under-par 203 total on another sweltering day at Southern Hills.

The world number one registered two birdies against one bogey as he played a solid round, content to watch his rivals slide backand struggle to stay in the hunt.

The top five players on the leaderboard all posted 69s.

Ames rolled in a long birdie putt on the difficult 18th hole to move into second place at four-under 206, one stroke better than American Woody Austin, who bogeyed the last.

Australian John Senden was in fourth place at two-under-par 208, with three-times major winner Ernie Els of South Africa next at 209 as only five players finished 54 holes under par.

Recorded bogey

Local favourite Scott Verplank, who trailed by two entering the round and played alongside Woods, double-bogeyed the par-four 12th hole as Woods made birdie, starting a plunge that put him seven strokes behind after a four-over 74.

The 31-year-old Woods birdied the fourth and 12th holes and recorded his only bogey at the 223-yard par-three 14th when he needed two putts after blasting out of a greenside bunker.

Woods, who won last year's U.S. PGA at Medinah, is unbeaten in 12 tries when going into the final round of major with at least a share of the lead, and he has never lost any tournament when leading by more than one shot after 54 holes.

"The statistics will tell you, yes, it is over," Els said. "But as a competitor, I can't sit there and tell you it's over. I can't ever do that."

But if he were watching from his house?

"If I was not a golfer - a fan on the couch- I'd be putting my house on him, yeah," Els said.

Woods will play in the final round of a major for the third time this year.