PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. _ They swarmed as one, a massive amoeba sliding along the fairways and around the greens and tees, hungry for something meaty to wrap itself around.
For most of the front nine Saturday at the Honda Classic, Tiger Woods fed hope to his adoring legion of followers at PGA National, but not the excitement they craved.
Then it happened on the eighth green. Woods stepped up to a 6-foot putt and struck it true.
"Get in the hole!" they pleaded as one. "Get in the hole ... YEAH!!"
"Great putt, Tiger!"
It was his first birdie of the third round after a string of straight and steady pars, lifting him to even par for the tournament.
There was plenty of drama playing out higher on the leaderboard, where a succession of contenders took brief bows on the top rung, but they had eyes only for him.
Understandable, considering the names _ Jamie Lovemark, Luke List, Webb Simpson _ brought to mind the bewilderment of Butch and Sundance about their pursuers: "Who are those guys?"
It wasn't until later, when reigning PGA Player of the Year Justin Thomas barged through the Bear Trap with birdies on the two toughest holes, 15 and 17, that there was a familiar force near the top.
List, with birdies on two of the last three holes sandwiched around a bogey, finished with a 66 and will take a 1-stroke lead at 7-under par into Sunday's final round.
Thomas and Simpson were one shot back, with Lovemark and Tommy Fleetwood at 5-under.
A pair of bogeys in the Bear Trap left Woods seven shots behind List in a five-way tie for 11th after a 1-under 69. But still within reach, at least in his mind.
"I've got a shot going into (Sunday)," he said. "I feel very good."
For most of the day List and Lovemark, playing together in the final pairing, were waging a spirited duel well behind the Tiger throng. They each notched three birdies on the way to matching 32s on the front nine to make the turn at 6-under.
List and Lovemark are Californians who have never won on the PGA Tour. This tournament was the third time List had at least a share of the 36-hole lead, and now he's in the catbird seat after 54 for the second time.
Lovemark, 30, may be most noteworthy as a product of Torrey Pines High, the same school as Tony Hawk, Shaun White and John Lynch.
The golf course of the same name outside San Diego was the site of the most memorable modern-day U.S. Open Championship, in 2008, when a hobbled Woods prevailed over Rocco Mediate in a sudden-death playoff after 90 grueling holes. Woods, who was playing on an ailing left knee and a stress fracture of his left tibia, hasn't won a major since.
That's how legends are forged. It explains why so many in the large, movable gallery on the Champion Course rallied behind Woods, hoping against hope that he could summon that old Tiger magic at 42 in his comeback from spinal fusion surgery.
When his approach on No. 9 stuck 15 feet from the hole, they roared again.
"Tiger is back," declared a gray-haired fan.
Alas, this putt rolled 18 inches past the hole. They groaned and cursed on his behalf as Woods settled for another par.
Nonetheless, he was giving them a taste of what has been missing in the golf world through his struggles with back trouble and personal woes.
The author of 79 Tour events, including 14 major titles, hasn't won since 2013. This week Woods is showing signs he could again be a factor, even if not the dominant force of the past.
Jack Nicklaus was among the skeptics, saying on the eve of the tournament, "It's beyond me that he's playing. Everything I ever heard about a (spinal) fusion is you're history for playing a competitive sport. He's actually swinging the club quite nicely. I wish him all the best of success because he's a great competitor. I just hope he stays together."
Woods has kept it together so far with a patient approach in daunting winds and super-fast greens. He said Friday that "making pars is a good thing" in these circumstances.
Tiger made his second birdie on 13 when he drilled a 14-footer arrow-straight. He took a quick sidestep with putter outthrust toward the hole. En garde!
Woods made sure to avoid the water on the first Bear Trap hole, at 15, where he double-bogeyed Friday after a dip in the lake. This time he kept his tee shot well left in the rough, but still ended up with his first bogey of the round.
Another bogey would follow on 17, but he finished with a birdie that got his round under par.
"I can't be that annoyed because I played really well," he said. "I wish I'd made a few more putts. I hit good putts. I just didn't get anything going on that front nine."
Thomas' late surge, with four birdies on the back nine, enabled him to finish at 65, matching Alex Noren for the best round of the week. He had six birdies in the round.
Asked if he'll be conscious of Woods lurking during the final round, Thomas said, "Not just because it's him am I necessarily worried, it's just a fact that there's a lot of players there that could just as easily do what he could do."
Thomas added, "If he starts making a charge, I'll know or I'll see."
To be sure, the mob will make it clear if Tiger makes a move.
