Woods bogeyed the last two holes today to fall five shots behind leader Retief Goosen going into the final round of the HSBC Champions tournament.

Woods has won six consecutive stroke events on the PGA Tour, his last loss coming in a runner-up finish at the Western Open in July.

Starting the third round at 8 under after his record-tying 64 in the second, Woods shot a 73 in cold and blustery conditions today to drop to 7-under 209.

Goosen made five birdies and two bogeys for 69, one of only 17 players to break par in the third round.

He had a one-shot cushion on Yang Yong-eun, a 34-year-old South Korean who carded a 67 for the best score of the day.

"Whenever you're leading going into the final round, it's great," Goosen said. "I've got somebody tomorrow that I have to watch out that I don't know. Yang is obviously playing extremely well. ... Obviously, Tiger is there, and we all know what he's capable of."

Woods has played down the significance of the win streak, saying his perfect run ended in September when he lost in the first round of the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth, England.

And this is not a PGA Tour event. The HSBC Champions is the first tournament of the 2007 European Tour and is co-sanctioned by the Asian, Australasian, South African and Chinese tours.

Still, Woods is eager to improve on his runner-up finish here last year and return from his five-week sabbatical with a victory. He'll need a round like he produced Friday to have any chance.

Goosen "is a tough man to catch," Woods said. "He's playing solid, but I've got to go out there and take care of my own business. We'll see what happens."

Yang, who has four victories on the Japan Tour, beat a field including Goosen for his first Asian Tour title at the Korea Open earlier this year.

India's Joyti Randhawa, the leader after the first two rounds, had an even-par 72 and was third at 10 under. Scotland's Marc Warren was one more stroke back, two ahead of Woods, England's Paul Casey and Italian Francesco Molinari.

Woods made eight birdies and an eagle yesterday, after making his return from a five-week break on Thursday with a 72.

His round was mixed today, with a double-bogey, three bogeys an eagle and two birdies.

"As good as it was yesterday, it was as bad as it was today," Woods said. "I struggled, didn't hit the ball well and didn't putt well. The last two holes I put myself on my back. ... I will have to shoot a great round tomorrow and hope that's enough."

After opening with a bogey, Woods recovered with an eagle 3 at the second hole.

At the par-4 seventh hole, he drove into a bunker, chipped directly into another, messed up his sand wedge and then missed a 3-foot putt for a double bogey.

Woods improved to 9 under with birdies at two par-5s, including a stunning chip-in on the eighth after two wayward shots, before his lapse on the 17th and 18th.

He was not the only player struggling in the wind: 37 players had scores of 75 or worse.

Michael Campbell, who came into the third round with a share of third place, slipped to 19th after a 77 that included 10 bogeys. Jim Furyk was tied with Campbell at 3-under after a 74.

Woods is scheduled to play in the Grand Slam of Golf Nov. 21-22 at Poipu Bay Golf Course on Kaua'i.