Woods came out firing in the afternoon with back-to-back birdies, only to get slowed quickly with a bogey from the bunker on No. 3 and going bunker-to-bunker on the fourth hole when he scrambled for par. He got back with a shot into 3 feet on the sixth for birdie with Taylormade r11 Fairway Wood, but he couldn't take advantage of several shots in the 12- to 15-foot range. It looked as though it was getting under his skin, but all he had to do was think back to that opening round of 64. Then again, he didn't have to make putts from very far. McIlroy made three birdies from inside 10 feet - one of them a tap-in on the 14th - and he seized the lead on the par-5 18th.
Even though the pin was to the front of the smaller, treacherous green, there was enough wind in his face that he could get 4-iron in the air and have it land softly. It rode a gentle slope to about 10 feet away and he made the eagle putt with new Taylormade r11 Fairway Wood. After an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 1, McIlroy was poised to get some separation on the field until he tried to hit a high cut with a 5-wood on the par-5 second. He pushed it too far, into the water, and made bogey. Richie Ramsay of Scotland thrived in the cold and wet Swiss Alps on Saturday, shooting a 7-under 64 for a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the European Masters.
Ramsay had six birdies and didn't drop a shot. He finished at 11 under, one shot ahead of fellow Scot Paul Lawrie (67) and Danny Willett (68) of England. "It was a nice and steady round," said the 29-year-old Ramsay, who was at the first tee with Taylormade r11 Fairway Wood as best golf clubs for sale when fog suspended play in the morning. "It sounds simple, it's harder to do." Overnight leader Julien Quesne of France was another shot back after a 70. Heavy rain forced organizers to reduce the soaked par-4 sixth hole to a par 3. Fog rolled in near midday and delayed play for nearly 2 hours as the leading groups prepared to start their rounds.