South African Rory Sabbatini takes a four-stroke lead into the final round of the Nissan Open in Los Angeles - and he does not have to worry about Tiger Woods any more.
Woods' hopes of a third straight victory this year ended when he withdrew from an event he has now failed to win in 11 attempts.
The world number one, suffering from 'flu symptoms all week, had only just survived the halfway cut on one over par. But just before his third round tee-off time, word came through that he had decided not to continue.
Woods' agent Mark Steinberg said: "Everyone saw how Tiger felt this week, struggling with the 'flu, and he just can't shake it.
"He feels awful. This is an event he loves to play in and strives to win. Tiger doesn't want to pull out of any event ever, much less the Nissan Open in his home town."
Woods' focus now will be on recovering fitness for the start of the Accenture world match play championship in San Diego on Wednesday. He is scheduled to play Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell in the first round of a tournament he has won twice in the last three years.
Sabbatini, four clear at halfway, added a 67 to reach 14 under par and stay on course for a victory which - following two runners-up finishes already this season - would take him top of the US Tour money list.
Joint second on 10 under are 46-year-old twice winner Fred Couples, seeking only his second success on the circuit since 1998, and fellow American Craig Barlow.
Lee Westwood fell from fourth to 11th on six under with a 70 but is now the leading European. France's Thomas Levet, joint second at halfway, crashed to a 77.
Justin Rose, who shared the lead after an opening 64, also shot 70 and is 14th - while Luke Donald (71) and Greg Owen (70) are three under and in a tie for 30th. Paul McGinley's 71 left him two under and joint 37th.
Biggest European surprise was the 80 of Swede Henrik Stenson, who leads the Ryder Cup table. In the first regular US Tour appearance of his career, Stenson's frustration appeared to boil over when he four-putted from eight feet for a double-bogey seven on the 11th and three-putted the next.
Couples is another who has been feeling unwell this week.
After flying back from Australia, he scratched from Wednesday's pro-am. Having started with a bogey in the first round, he said: "I should have just walked in."
He considers Riviera his favourite tour stop "besides Augusta", however, and that prompted him to battle on.
"My 66 was the biggest fluke of the year," he added - and he went one better than that today.
Sabbatini has won twice in America before, but his main claim to fame last year was the controversy he caused at the Booz Allen Classic in June.
Towards the end of the final round, a furious Sabbatini stormed ahead of playing partner Ben Crane in a clear protest about the American's pace of play.
Former Ryder Cup star Paul Azinger, commentating on television, called it the rudest thing he had ever seen - and at the following week's US Open Sabbatini apologised for his actions.
