No crowd to watch Tiger roar in Round 3

The storms that have battered the mid-Atlantic left the Maryland course unsafe for spectators, so Woods was not accompanied by his usual whoops and cheers as he carded a four-under 67 to sit six under overall, one behind leader Brendon de Jonge.

Woods' round was matched by playing partner Bo Van Pelt who also finished on six under for a share of second, as did South Korea's Noh Seung-yul after a two-under 69.

Tiger Woods tees off during Round Three of the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club on Saturday in Maryland. PIC/AFP

Overnight leader Hunter Mahan could only manage a two-over 73 to finish the day five under in joint fifth, alongside Billy Hurley III who carded a best-of-the-day 66.

Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela was on his own on four under. Woods was bogey-free for his round, which included birdies at the first, third, sixth and 10th, and he used only five putts over the first six holes.

The unusual conditions did not seem to adversely affect Woods, but Van Pelt joked: "I told Tiger that was a Bo Van Pelt crowd, so I was used to that. I was very comfortable with 10 or 15 people watching me play golf."

Zimbabwean De Jonge, who birdied the second, sixth and 12th, could have had a two-stroke lead but for a bogey on 14. Defending champion Nick Watney was two under to sit five off the pace, one ahead of England's Greg Owen who went round in 67 yesterday.