Westwood surges

Lee Westwood made 11 birdies in a round of 61 on Saturday to grab a share of the lead with Louis Oosthuizen after the third round of the HSBC Champions.

Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, came into the weekend with a five-stroke lead over the field, but struggled with his putting and had a 70.

The South African had a chance to retake the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, but missed by inches - the last of many near misses throughout the day.

Westwood and Oosthuizen were at 18-under 198. Phil Mickelson (66) made seven birdies and was three shots back.

Ernie Els briefly surged into a share of the lead on the back nine before dumping his ball into a reservoir on the tricky 15th hole and taking a double bogey. He finished with a 69 and was tied for fourth with Bill Haas (66) and Ian Poulter (65) at 202.

It was the second time in three weeks Westwood shot a 61 - he also had one to beat Charl Schwartzel in the semifinals of the World Golf Final exhibition in Turkey in mid-October.

But as good as his score was Saturday, it wasn't even the low round of the day. That belonged to Brandt Snedeker, who had a chance at a 59, but just missed a birdie putt on the 18th hole and settled for a 60 - a new course record - and a 203 total.

Starting the day back in 12th place, Westwood began his charge up the leaderboard with three consecutive birdies on the first three holes.

He then birdied the fifth and seventh holes and sunk a 10-foot putt for another birdie on the 573-yard par-5 ninth hole to make the turn at 13 under, four strokes back. The Englishman kept up the pressure on the back nine, closing his round with four more birdies to catch Oosthuizen and Els.

After two rounds of nearly flawless golf, Oosthuizen was five strokes up on the field and looked to be comfortably in control going into the weekend.

His two-round score of 16-under 128 was the lowest through 36 holes at any World Golf Championship event since they began in 1999.

But cracks began to appear in his putting game early on Saturday. After making a nice chip shot from the bunker on the third hole, he missed a routine 5-footer for birdie - the first par-5 hole of the tournament he's failed to make birdie or better.