DANISH GOLFER DEFIES NATURE MOST SCORES GONE WITH THE WIND.

Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS - Thomas Bjorn of Denmark needed to save birdie out of the water. Bernhard Langer of Germany sent his caddie climbing up a tree to locate another errant shot. Colin Montgomerie of Scotland had to hit out of rough on a downhill so steep he rekindled memories of fabled British ski-jumper Eddie the Eagle.

The world's best golfers wrestled with the winds of Sherwood Country Club on Saturday, and as everyone knows, it's not nice to mess with Mother Nature.

Final score: Mother Nature 15, Best in Golf 3.

So it went in the third round of the Williams World Challenge, when cold, swirling winds sent shots flying off line and left Sherwood's greens so slippery fast that only three players broke par - notably Bjorn, who shot 64 to tie the tournament record.

No one was exempt from trouble, not even the best of the best - tournament host and No. 1 in the world Tiger Woods, who nearly drove the 385-yard, par-4 10th hole but could get no better than bogey.

``It was windy and blustery out there,'' Woods said. ``I didn't figure it out all day. I was long, I was short, I was left, I was right. It was tough out there.''

Fred Couples, who shared the first-round lead, got one of the biggest cheers of the day for reaching the 14th green with a hooking approach shot he had to start out headed out of bounds from hillside rough.

Minutes after that remarkable par save, Couples was coping with a quadruple-bogey that included two shots from the rough and one into the water on the 186-yard, par-3 15th.

``The winds were a different direction today and it was colder,'' said tournament leader Vijay Singh, of Fiji. ``That made club selection a lot more difficult. When it's cold and windy and with so much elevation change on this golf course, it's pretty hard to judge distances.''

Singh got high grade of the day for distance judging with his approach to the 10th green, hitting a wedge shot into the cup from 52 yards for an eagle that carried him to a round of 1-under-par 71 and a three-day total of 205, good for a four-stroke lead over runner-up Woods.

Given the scoring potential in this 18-man field - which includes 16 players ranked 26th in the world or better - 1 under par might not sound like much of a move. But it was enough for Singh to increase his tournament lead on a day 15 players failed to break par and eight had double bogey or worse.

Jesper Parnevik ballooned from a 65 on Friday to a third-round 75, despite five birdies.

``I made two bogeys and a double bogey on the par-5s today, which doesn't help very much,'' he said.

Singh, who took the tournament lead with a 66 on Friday, held it by dodging trouble while most of his competition was getting into it.

Woods opened the day one stroke off the lead but had two bogeys - dropping four strokes behind Singh - before his first birdie, on the par-5 11th hole. He finished with three bogeys and a double bogey, against three birdies.

Couples, who backed up a first-round 66 with a 71 on Friday to stay within three shots of the lead, had three early birdies to catch Singh at 10 under on the sixth hole, only to bogey the next two holes. A bogey by Singh on the ninth got Couples within a stroke, but then Singh followed with his eagle from the fairway on No. 10 and a subsequent birdie on No. 11.

That, combined with Couples' quadruple bogey on No. 15 and another birdie by Singh, dropped Couples nine strokies off the pace at the end of the day.

Langer, who started the day tied with Couples at 7 under, shot 74 to move to third place at 211, one stroke ahead of Scott Hoch, who shot 72.

Lee Westwood of England was the only other player to break par Saturday, shooting 70 to move into a tie for fifth with Parnevik at 213.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Like most of the field, third-round leader Vijay Singh had problems with weather conditions Saturday in Thousand Oaks.

(2 -- color) Bernhard Langer follows through on a drive during third-round play in the Williams World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club.

(3 -- color) Tiger Woods reacts after missing a short shot in Saturday's competition at the Williams World Challenge in Thousand Oaks. Woods is four strokes behind leader Vijay Singh.

(4 -- color) Vijay Singh is all smiles atop the leaderboard after three rounds in Thousand Oaks.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photograher

Box:

SCORES