Adam Scott grinds out a 72 to stay in touch as Jim Furyk leads US PGA heading into final round Adam Scott sits four shots behind leader Jim Furyk after a dramatic third round of the US PGA Championship. MASTERS champion Adam Scott has barely escaped from a brutal day of reckoning at Oak Hill and still remains a chance to win the US PGA Championship in New York. Attempting to become the first Australian male to win two majors in a year, Scott shot a 2-over 72 to be four strokes from the lead held by American Jim Furyk (68) at 9-under. Jason Dufner (71) is one behind Furyk, while the Swedish pair of Henrik Stenson (69) and Jonas Blixt (66) are two and three shots back, respectively. Scott is in a tie for fifth at 5-under with Steve Stricker (70), his playing partner in tomorrow's final round. Scott was grinding out pars to stay on the heels of the leaders and needed three shots from the rough after hitting a tree at the par-4 16th hole, then two-putted from 18 feet for double bogey, made a 15-foot par putt at 17 and parred 18 for a two-over par 72. Craig Parry chats about Adam Scott's chances in the US PGA Championship following a dramatic third round at Oak Hill. "I was grinding all day," Scott said afterwards. I bit off more than I could chew at 16 and made a bad mental error. It wasn't really going my way out there with much. Seventeen was a great way to hang in there and made a four out of nowhere really and gave myself a chance to have a good round tomorrow and maybe post a number. Scott can take some consolation from the fact that no major winner this year has played in the final group, so lurking in the chase group is not a bad place to be on Sunday. I'm just hanging around. I'm not really doing anything out there," Scott said. That's why 16 is disappointing. To lose a couple hurts. Australia's Adam Scott hits his tee shot on the 15th hole during the third round of the US PGA Championship. Dufner squandered a four-shot lead with four holes to play at the 2011 PGA Championship, just as Scott did at the 2012 British Open. And Furyk, the 2003 US Open winner, led four times after 54 holes last year but did not win once. "Four back is well within reach," Scott said. Anything can happen in a major. We saw the pin spots get very tough today and scoring in the final groups was very difficult. With so much danger around, it's hard to be completely free with major pressure on the line. "If I get off to a good start tomorrow, I feel like my game is in good enough shape where I can carry that through," Scott said. Hopefully I just go out and find a little better rhythm with my swing tomorrow. Hopefully today was my day off and I come back really sharp. Scott wants to work on his putting as well. "You have got to stand up and hit the best putt you can every time," he said. I've got to hit more good ones. He vows to be ready for the pressure of the difficult 18th hole on Sunday even though there are two groups behind him. You have got to build yourself up to stand there and know this is maybe your last shot at the tournament. It can all slip away," Scott said. Eighteen is no pushover. Hit a bad drive and bogey is staring you right in the face. You have got to stand there and hit the putt like it is the last one to win the tournament. Defending champion Rory McIlroy (67) and England's Lee Westwood (68) are six from the lead in a tie for seventh. Marc Leishman (70) and Jason Day (72) were the best of the other Australians at even par in a tie for 20th. Scott's 72 was the day's worst score from the top 11 players on the leaderboard. But it could have been worse on a course that changed dramatically from the first days of low scoring. Fickle breezes made club selection precarious while the greens became slippery as they dried out in the wind. Scott started in spectacular fashion, holing a 35-footer for birdie on the first hole. But the 33-year-old Queenslander dropped shots on the next two holes. After 10 pars in succession, Scott must have sensed the tournament slipping away. Then he played one of the shots of the year, driving the 318-yard 14th to set up a two-putt birdie. His powerful strike moved commentator Nick Faldo to gush: "Poetry, perfection, just the finest swing out there [on tour]." Just when it seemed Scott was mounting a charge, he blocked his drive on the 16th into the trees and wound up with a double-bogey 6. Scott will have to play better from the tee on Sunday if he is to join Sam Snead, Jack Burke Junior and Jack Nicklaus as winners of the Masters and PGA Championship in the same year. Frequently choosing an iron for safety, Scott still only hit eight of 14 fairways. He hit 12 greens in regulation and had 32 putts. He was given a lesson in ballstriking from player partner Dufner, who hit 15 greens and had 33 putts. The American hit the better approach shot on 12 of the 18 holes. Furyk is the man to catch after wielding a white-hot putter. Playing his 500th US PGA Tour event, he is seeking a 17th tour victory and second major title to add to his 2003 US Open. Scott has some hope given that Furyk failed to convert a win from the 54-hole leads that he held four times last year. Dufner, who lost a playoff for the PGA Championship two years ago to Keegan Bradley, looks shaky on the very short putts. The Swedish pair of Stenson and Blixt are yet to win a major, while McIlroy and Westwood may discover that six strokes is too much ground to make up. McIlroy battled into contention with a birdie-birdie finish for a three-under par 67. McIlroy birdied the par-3 sixth, took his only bogey of the day to start the back nine, then birdied the par-5 15th and closed birdie-birdie on two of Oak Hill's most difficult holes. World number one Tiger Woods fired a three-over par 73, dooming his bid for a 15th major title at four-over 214 for 54 holes. He made bogeys at the first and par-3 third after finding the rough off the tee, birdied the par-3 11th but bogeys at 16 and 17 dropped him back. Second-ranked Phil Mickelson, who won the British Open three weeks ago, struggled to a 78 -- matching his worst-ever PGA Championship round -- and was 74th on 10-over 220, making bogeys on three of the last four holes as well as a double bogey and triple bogey. Click here to subscribe How the Aussies fared Adam Scott 65-68-72 (-5) Marc Leishman 70-70-70 (Even) Jason Day 67-71-72 (Even) Marcus Fraser 67-69-75 (+1) John Senden 72-70-73 (+5) Matt Jones 72-71-73 (Withdrew) Missed the cut Brett Rumford 70-77 (+7) Geoff Ogilvy 74-74 (+8) Collated scores after Round 3 of the US PGA Championship (par 70) 201 - Jim Furyk (USA) 65-68-68 202 - Jason Dufner (USA) 68-63-71 203 - Henrik Stenson (SWE) 68-66-69 204 - Jonas Blixt (SWE) 68-70-66 205 - Steve Stricker (USA) 68-67-70, Adam Scott (AUS) 65-68-72 207 - Rory McIlroy (NIR) 69-71-67, Lee Westwood (ENG) 66-73-68 208 - Dustin Johnson (USA) 72-71-65, Kevin Streelman (USA) 70-72-66, Roberto Castro (USA) 68-69-71 209 - Marc Warren (SCO) 74-67-68, David Toms (USA) 71-69-69, Zach Johnson (USA) 69-70-70, Bill Haas (USA) 68-70-71, David Lynn (ENG) 69-69-71, Charley Hoffman (USA) 69-67-73, Webb Simpson (USA) 72-64-73, Robert Garrigus (USA) 67-68-74, Matt Kuchar (USA) 67-66-76 210 - Marc Leishman (AUS) 70-70-70, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 72-68-70, Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) 69-71-70, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 68-71-71, Rickie Fowler (USA) 70-68-72, Scott Piercy (USA) 67-71-72, Jason Day (AUS) 67-71-72 211 - Luke Guthrie (USA) 71-71-69, Scott Jamieson (SCO) 69-72-70, Boo Weekley (USA) 72-69-70, Michael Thompson (USA) 72-67-72, Marcus Fraser (AUS) 67-69-75, Justin Rose (ENG) 68-66-77 212 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 68-75-69, K.J. Choi (KOR) 76-65-71, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 70-69-73, Sergio Garcia (ESP) 69-68-75 213 - Brandt Snedeker (USA) 70-73-70, Ken Duke (USA) 75-68-70, David Hearn (CAN) 66-76-71, Josh Teater (USA) 71-71-71, Brendon De Jonge (ZIM) 71-71-71, Keegan Bradley (USA) 69-72-72, Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 72-68-73, Ryan Moore (USA) 69-71-73, Chris Kirk (USA) 71-69-73, Paul Casey (ENG) 67-72-74 214 - Ryan Palmer (USA) 73-70-71, Brooks Koepka (USA) 71-72-71, Tiger Woods (USA) 71-70-73, Martin Kaymer (GER) 68-68-78 215 - D.A. Points (USA) 73-70-72, Harris English (USA) 74-69-72, Danny Willett (ENG) 73-70-72, J.J. Henry (USA) 71-71-73, John Senden (AUS) 72-70-73, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 70-72-73, Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 71-70-74, Peter Hanson (SWE) 72-69-74, Matteo Manassero (ITA) 72-69-74, Tim Clark (RSA) 69-71-75, Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 68-72-75 216 - Matt Jones (AUS) 72-71-73, Scott Stallings (USA) 73-70-73, Tommy Gainey (USA) 69-74-73, John Merrick (USA) 75-68-73, Darren Clarke (NIR) 69-73-74, Shane Lowry (IRL) 71-70-75, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 70-71-75, Hunter Mahan (USA) 70-68-78 217 - Ben Curtis (USA) 73-70-74 218 - Ian Poulter (ENG) 70-71-77 219 - Stephen Gallacher (SCO) 75-68-76 220 - Phil Mickelson (USA) 71-71-78 223 - Gary Woodland (USA) 73-70-80