Woods shoots himself out of U.S. Open with 6-over 76

• Tiger Woods shot a 6-over 76%2C his worst U.S. Open round as a pro
• Woods is 10 shots behind leader Phil Mickelson
• %22I just didn%27t make the putts I needed to make%2C%22 he said

ARDMORE, Pa. — After three rounds of the U.S. Open, Tiger Woods finds himself five strokes behind the leading amateur in the field at Merion Golf Club, a 19-year-old college star.

Woods, who came here bent on ending his five-year drought in major championships, shot a 6-over-par 76 Saturday, leaving him 9 over for the tournament and 10 strokes behind 54-hole leader Phil Mickelson.

It was Woods' worst U.S. Open round as a pro.

"It is certainly frustrating because I certainly was feeling like I was playing well this week, and I just didn't make the putts I needed to make," said Woods, who along with his putting woes has been playing with a painful left elbow.

Woods heads into Sunday's final round five behind California amateur Michael Kim, who is at 4 over.

What would it be like for Kim to finish ahead of Woods?

"I don't know," said Kim. "Tiger's been an idol of mine since I basically started golf, and if I do finish in front of him, great. If I finish behind him, that's fine. Hopefully, Tiger can win the British (Open) or something."

Kim grew up in Del Mar, Calif., and attended Torrey Pines High School. Woods won his last major, his 14th, at Torrey Pines Golf Course in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Was Kim at Torrey Pines that weekend in '08?

"I wasn't. I was actually at a tournament somewhere, but I definitely saw all the highlights and stuff," Kim said.

Woods' only highlight cam at the first hole, with his first putt, a twisting downhiller from 10 feet for birdie.

"Yeah, at least I started well," he said.

He made seven bogeys the rest of the way, two of them coming on three-putts.

"No, I didn't make anything today," Woods said. "I just couldn't get a feel for them (the greens). Some putts were slow, some were fast, and I had a tough time getting my speed right.''

On No. 10, Woods lipped out a 4-foot putt for bogey. He missed from 3-feet at 16 and ended up with bogey.

En route to a bogey on No. 6, Woods flubbed a chip shot from the fringe of the green. The ball popped out, rolled to the right and slipped off the green.

"It was a tough little shot," Woods said.

Woods played for the fourth day in a row, counting a Wednesday practice round, with world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who had problems of his own.

The 2011 U.S. Open champ is 8 over for the tournament after a 5-over 75 on Saturday.

"So we have seen each other just every day this week, seems like," Woods said. " We both struggled today. We both didn't get ourselves back in the tournament. We did what we needed to do at the first hole (McIlroy had a birdie, too) and got off to a nice start.

"He made a mistake at the second (bogey), and I made a few mistakes on the front nine myself."

Woods tied for fourth at the Masters in April after a bad break on Friday — a shot at No. 15 hit the flagstick and bounced back into the water — leading to a mistake on the drop, a bogey, a controversy and a two-shot penalty.

"At Augusta, I was pretty close, and I had the lead at one point and I hit that flag and ended up in the water," said Woods, who has four PGA Tour victories this season. "I'm playing well enough to do it and unfortunately just haven't gotten it done."

His next chance to get it done — and end his five-year drought — will be the British Open, July 18-21 at Muirfield.