THE tranquil nature of this ancient, remote small town was shattered Saturday as Tiger Woods lit up the grey burg and the bright yellow scoreboards and moved into serious contention to win his fourth Claret Jug.

With challenging Carnoustie anything but nasty on an unusually calm day by the North Sea, Tiger knew he had to take a big bite out of Carnoustie’s cupcake conditions to afford himself a legitimate chance to win his 15th major championship.

And he did just that, taking advantage of the ripe scoring environment with more aggression than he showed in the opening two rounds. With full control of his game, and his mind — and putter — on point, Woods ripped off six birdies in the opening 14 holes and put his name atop the leaderboard.

This was the Tiger of old, not an old Tiger that’s been beaten down and hampered by a troublesome back the past four years. He signed for a 5-under-par 66 that left him at 5 under through 54 holes and four shots back of the leaders. And his 66 was his first weekend round in the 60s in the Open since 2007.

“It’s absolutely crazy to think so many people can follow a person,” said playing partner Shaun Norris. “There’s a couple of holes that people may be standing 15, 20 deep on each side. I think the best word to describe it all is the way Russell Knox put it, it’s like playing with a mythical creature.”(SD-Agencies)