PITTSFORD, N.Y. — At the P.G.A. Championship on Saturday, the weather stopped fluctuating and the leader board began to rock back and forth. The third round at Oak Hill Country Club, played in abundant sunshine, low humidity and gentle breezes, turned into a seesaw ride with Jason Dufner and Jim Furyk taking turns going up and down.
Furyk, who won the United States Open 10 years ago, posted his second consecutive two-under-par 68 to take a one-stroke lead, at nine-under 201. Dufner, who began the day two shots clear of Furyk and two others, fell back to earth after his otherworldly course-record 63 on Friday.
Dufner scrambled for a 71 and a 54-hole total of 202 to set up a final-day final pairing of two men who could be on the United States all-Laconic team. Their calmness is not all they have in common: Furyk has a waggle at the top of his swing, and Dufner has multiple waggles at address.
In assessing his game, Furyk could have been summing up Dufner's: "I think probably not a lot of bells and whistles, but go out there and give it your best and play hard."
Henrik Stenson, who has three runner-up finishes in 2013, most recently at the British Open, crept up the leader board, into third, with a 69, his third consecutive sub-70 round. The biggest mover of the day was Dustin Johnson, who carded a 65 after making the cut of three over on the number to surge into the top 10.
Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, whose best finish in a major this year is a tie for 25th at the Masters, played his way into contention with a 67 that left him tied for seventh with Lee Westwood (68) at 207.
The top two players in the world, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, were reduced to a warm-up act, both finishing their third rounds before Dufner teed off. Playing in different groups, Woods, the world No. 1, and Mickelson commanded large armies but could not shoot straight. They found a combined 10 fairways, and between them, they had a bogey — or, in Mickelson's case, worse — on 10 of the 18 holes.
Mickelson's round of 78 included a triple bogey at No. 7, a double at No. 14 and an ungainly 34 putts.
Woods, who won his fifth title of the year last Sunday, beat a retreat to the range Friday after his round of 70 to work on his swing, specifically the take-away, with his coach, Sean Foley. The session did not pay immediate dividends as Woods was wild off the tee, hitting five fairways in his third-round 73.
"I didn't hit it very good, didn't make anything, kept blocking every putt," Woods said. "So it was a tough day."
That has become a refrain for Woods in the Grand Slam events. In 15 rounds in the majors this year, Woods has broken 70 once, in the first round of the British Open.
"That's golf," Woods said. "We don't play well every week."
After a stormy start to the week, the sun arrived just in time to thaw McIlroy's season. Playing in the worst of the weather the first two days, McIlroy on Friday was five over after 10 holes, which he played in a downpour. Then the rain passed, and with the sun beaming down on him, McIlroy has played his last 25 holes in seven under.
McIlroy, a former No. 1, has fallen to third after going winless in his first 12 starts. The first sign that his game was rounding into form came Thursday when he bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time, in his bliss to get to the first tee box.
The finishing holes were where McIlroy tripped in the first two days. He made three bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18 in the first two days, but on Saturday, he birdied both to put an extra sway to his strut.
"I probably made up at least three, three and a half shots on those last two holes," McIlroy said.
When McIlroy is striking the ball well, his putting naturally follows. Witness his 25 putts Saturday.
"I wouldn't say that was my best ball-striking round out there by any means," said McIlroy, who hit 7 fairways and 10 greens, "but I got it up and down when I needed to, and that was the most important thing."
On Friday afternoon, as Dufner was being serenaded by chants of "63," he had reason to wonder if perhaps he had peaked too soon. The only downside of becoming the 24th player to shoot a round of 63 in a major was coming up with a crowd-pleasing encore.
Dufner was in the driver's seat, making pars with all the flair of someone strictly observing the speed limit, when he arrived at the tee of the 428-yard, par-4 fifth. After taking eight calming waggles, he sent his drive into the creek that runs through the course, leading to his first double bogey of the championship.
With a birdie at No. 7, Dufner got one stroke back, only to give it away with a short miss for par at No. 8. Dufner's up-and-down day ended with a flourish, with a 6-foot par putt at No. 18 that burned the edge of the cup and dropped in as he was taking his first step toward the hole.
Dufner looks like a couch potato, which he is, but not in a frittering-away-the-day way. He enjoys studying film and YouTube videos of the game's greatest players. He developed his waggle from hours of watching the likes of Ben Hogan, who held a share of the course record he broke, and Sam Snead.
The waggle can wear on spectators, but it works for Dufner, helping him release tension in his arms and calm his nervous system. The waggle serves another purpose: it is the only discernible sign that Dufner has a nervous system.
"I don't think there is a guy out here when you are playing in these major championships that doesn't feel the pressure," Dufner said, adding: "Some guys show it. Some guys hide it. Me and Jim hide it pretty well."
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