SAN DIEGO • Ridiculous.

That’s the only way to explain what we’re witnessing from Tiger Woods. His talent is utterly ridiculous.

“Completely out of his mind,” said Rocco Mediate, who played in the group behind Woods. “The stuff he does, it’s unreal.”

The best golfer in the world is showing why he’s better than any of us thought – and the sane among us thought he was great, possibly the greatest.

Woods finished the third round of the 108th U. S. Open at Torrey Pines with an eagle on 13, a birdie on 17 and an eagle on 18. Woods shot a 1-under-par 70 to take a one-stroke lead over Lee Westwood after 54 holes. It’s Woods’ first 54-hole lead in a U.S. Open since he won at Bethpage Black in 2002.

And as Woods has shown 13 times in the past, he doesn’t lose when leading on the final day of a major.

Woods’ leading a major isn’t as big a surprise as how he’s leading this major – especially this major, which comes 60 days after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Woods’ knee isn’t healthy. It’s not even close. We’ve all seen the winces and the grimaces. We saw him keel over after the drive on 15, then play it off by grabbing the tee and trying to walk down the fairway. Then we saw him use his club as a crutch.

The limp is as noticeable as his incredible shot-making ability.

Just call him the best golfer in the world on one leg – or two.

To his credit, Woods has yet to make the knee a big issue. He isn’t talking about it. He’s hasn’t avoided questions. He just didn’t say much before Saturday night, and even then, it wasn’t a lot.

“I just keep telling myself that if it grabs me and if I get that shooting pain, I get it,” Woods said. “But it’s always after impact. So go ahead and just make the proper swing if I can.”

Woods finally admitted that his swing, one where he uses his left leg to generate more power, affects his knee.

“There are certain shots I’ll feel it,” he said. “And you can’t say it’s the drive. You can’t say it’s a wedge. Because I don’t know which one it’s going to happen on.”

Woods was five shots off the lead with six holes to play. He put together a six-hole display that – if he wins today – should have its own chapter in the Woods’ autobiography.

Woods sent his drive on No. 13 into the rough – rough you can’t walk through. You have to lift your feet up and out of the grass before moving them forward. Woods used a 5-iron to go to the back of the green. It was 210 yards to the front. Woods intended to sail it, but not 70 feet past the cup.

“It landed on top of the green, and I was surprised it even stopped,” he said.

Then Woods did the unthinkable. He rolled his putt 70 feet – downhill – into the cup.

Woods followed that with a bogey on 14 and two pars. Then came 17 and another horrible drive and approach that left him off the green, in the rough and downhill from the hole.

Woods’ chip was hit too hard. But if you do hit it too hard, Woods’ way was the only way. The chip bounced about 18 inches from the cup and then right into it.

“What the heck is he doing?” Mediate said, to several laughs. “What are you doing? Stop it!”

Woods just laughed. He covered his face a moment and laughed. He almost looked embarrassed that he made the shot.

“It was like, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Woods said. “I should have been … I hit just the worst tee shot I could possibly hit over there and making three when … honestly, I was just thinking, ‘Whatever you do, don’t make six here. Just give yourself a chance of making four.’

“All of a sudden, I walk away with three.”

And on another long putt for eagle on the final hole, Woods benefitted from playing partner Robert Karlsson’s putt.

“It was nice that I actually saw Robert’s putt because I knew it broke a little bit to the right, but I didn’t know it broke that much at the end,” Woods said. “… After seeing his putt, it’s ‘got to break more.’ When it went in, it’s ‘well, I read it right.'”Ridiculously good.

-Columnist Milo Bryant can be reached at 636-0252 or milo.bryant@gazettedev.gazette.com. Check out Milo’s blog, The Extra Milo, at milobryant.freedomblogging.com

Stefan Langer helped his father, Bernhard, line up a putt. Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS