ESPN 2007 British Open

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- The carnage occurs through the course of a major championship, but the bleeding typically does not begin until the final round. Sergio Garcia tried to get started early Saturday, but it was not self-inflicted pain, rather an errant shot that felled an unsuspecting photographer.

That was about the only thing that shook up Garcia amid the pressure of playing in the final group of a major championship -- and even that didn't last long. The photographer told Garcia he would be fine, and the Spaniard promptly knocked his chip onto the 17th green and made the putt for par.

He then struck two more solid shots at the difficult par-4 18th at Carnoustie Golf Links, narrowly missing his birdie putt, but settling for a par that gave him a three-shot lead heading into the final round of the British Open. It is his first 54-hole lead in a major championship.

And Tiger Woods is barely in sight.

Garcia has twice played with Woods in the final pairing at a major championship, including last year at Royal Liverpool, where Woods went on to win his third Claret Jug.

This time, Woods is eight shots back, in a tie for 15th.

"It definitely doesn't hurt, but it doesn't matter," said Garcia, 27, who shot a bogey-free, 3-under 68 to stand at 9-under for the tournament. "I can only try to keep doing the same things. I've been up there for three days now, and I think I've been dealing with it a little better every day. Hopefully [Sunday] there will be another day like that."

This time, Garcia will play in the final pairing with journeyman Steve Stricker, who shot a course-record 64 but has just three PGA Tour victories and none since 2001. He's also been in contention at the Wachovia Championship, U.S. Open and AT&T National this year and failed to get a win.

Chris DiMarco, who has no top-10 finishes since last year's British Open, is in third place, six strokes back and tied with Paul McGinley, Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Paul Broadhurst and K.J. Choi.

"I think everybody chasing is hoping for wind," Els said. "There will be some tough conditions. Otherwise, Sergio is so solid it seems like right now, he's not making any mistakes and he's leading by three now. It's kind of in his hands. But there's a lot of guys chasing. It's a major, so there's a lot that can still happen. But Sergio is in great position."

Last year at Hoylake, Garcia trailed Woods by just a stroke entering the final round but shot 75 and tied for fifth. In 2002 at the U.S. Open, he trailed by four, shot 74 and finished six back in fourth place.

Garcia, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour who is ranked 13th in the world, has had other chances to win a major, most notably the 1999 PGA Championship, where at age 19 he rallied on the back nine to make Woods sweat before coming up one shot short.

Now, eight years later, the pressure to break through and erase the label of best player without a major championship is mounting. He would become the only major winner who is under the age of 30 at this time, and break Europe's eight-year drought in golf's biggest tournaments if he can pull it off.

"I guess the good thing about it is even if you don't have the best of starts, you're still there, your game kicks in and you can always do it," Garcia said. "But if you're behind and you don't have the best of starts, it feels like you're falling way back. And it feels like then you can't play as comfortably. You have to attack more and go for some pins that maybe you shouldn't and things like that.

"I haven't been in this position in a major, so I'm looking forward to it."

Bob Harig is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.