ESPN 2007 Players Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- It was a dream finish, one that put Sean O'Hair in the lead at The Players Championship. You just don't birdie the last three holes at TPC-Sawgrass.

Really, you don't even think about it, because doing so means getting ahead of yourself on what can be a treacherous golf course.

O'Hair said he felt like "puking" after his tee shot at the par-3 17th landed safely on the green. That's how nervous he was standing over it. And he didn't feel much better after holing the putt, because he then had the difficult par-4 18th to play. No matter there, either, as he drained a 12-foot birdie putt to shoot 6-under 66 and claim a one-stroke lead over Phil Mickelson entering the final round.

"Whether you want to call it luck or just hitting good shots ... I played well all day and I was hitting 90 percent of my shots somewhere close to where I wanted to hit it and it was just a good day," O'Hair said. "I felt good on the greens, and it was just a nice way to cap off the day."

O'Hair is just 24 years old, but he's seemingly been around forever. Although he didn't join the PGA Tour until 2005 -- when he was Rookie of the Year -- he turned pro at age 17 while still in high school.

Anybody who knows O'Hair's story will be rooting for him on Sunday. His father, Marc, was so overbearing in pushing Sean as a young golfer that they have not spoken since the son's 2002 wedding. Today, Sean O'Hair is married with two children. His wife Jackie's father, Steve Lucas, caddies for him.

"You know, he's the in-law, sometimes the outlaw," O'Hair joked. "Sometimes we have our moments, just like everybody else. Normally we have a great time and we work well together."

O'Hair won the 2005 John Deere Classic when he was the second-youngest player on the PGA Tour. Last year, he endured a bit of a slump, but he's still earned more than $4 million in his brief career.

It's a long way from beating around golf's minor leagues, barely making any money and dealing with his father's wrath.

"It's been hard work," he said. "Just keeping believing in what you dream about, I guess. That's all it is. You've got I don't know how many guys out here on tour that every single guy is working hard and working for the same thing. Whether it be Tiger [Woods] trying to get better and winning more majors, or whether it be me trying to win more golf tournaments ... or just making it on the PGA Tour this year. We're all out there beating balls and working hard.

"And I guess if you have enough talent and you work hard enough and you believe in yourself, anything is possible."

A big victory will be possible for O'Hair if he can continue his current form. He leads the tournament in driving accuracy, hitting 36 of 42 fairways to lead the field, including 20 of 21 on the back nine. He is also tied for fourth in greens in regulation, reaching 39 of 54.

Overcoming Mickelson in the final pairing, as well as several players who are close behind -- Jeff Quinney, Peter Lonard, Luke Donald, Chris DiMarco, Aaron Baddeley and Jose Coceres among them -- will be a tall task for O'Hair.

But he's endured worse.

"There's pressure every day out here," he said. "It's just a matter of handling it. I have no choice. You've got to deal with it. If I just do what I need to do and not focus on pressure or focus on the tournament, I should be fine."

Bob Harig covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times and is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached at harig@sptimes.com.