FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- It was all there for Phil Mickelson last night on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park.

A chance to close out a spark- ling third round of the U.S. Open with two straight birdies.

A chance to close the deficit on Tiger Woods to two shots.

A chance to play with Woods in the final round today.

"I would have liked to have been in the last group," said Mickelson, who will celebrate his 32nd birthday today.

But none of that happened. A bogey on the par-4 18th hole after Mickelson drove into the left rough left him with a still impressive 3-under-par 67 but, after Woods closed with two birdies on his last four holes, it also left Mickelson five shots behind.

Mickelson tried to turn playing in the next-to-last group with Jeff Maggert into a positive.

"Being in the group in front, if I can go out and make some birdies and make some noise, it puts a little pressure on the players behind me," he said.

Mickelson seemed to be playing his way out of contention early during the round, with a bogey on the par-3 third hole leaving him as many as nine strokes behind Woods. But three straight birdies starting on the par-4 seventh, and three more in a five-hole stretch on the back nine helped Mickelson climb up the leader board.

"It's an incredible feeling making a putt on any of these greens, because the galleries have been so supportive," said Mickelson, who is one of the favorites here among the spectators because of his history of coming close in majors.

That feeling disappeared, as it often seems to with Mickelson, when he hit his errant drive.

"I felt I probably could have shot 5 or 6 under, but with that start nullified any opportunity to get there," Mickelson said. "To get back to under par was a very good score, and I think anything around 1 or 2 under was a wonderful round today."

Paddy perseveres

Padraig Harrington of Ireland showed his resiliency both early and late in yesterday's round.

He saved par from 20 feet on the first hole and from 15 feet on the second to stay even with Woods, but found himself at 4-over par for the day and 2 over for the tournament after a bogey on the par-4 11th hole.

But he recovered with birdies on the par-5 13th and par-4 15th, and narrowly missed a 6-footer for birdie on the par-4 18th.

"I was hitting the ball a little farther early on in the round than I expected," said Harrington, who finished at 3-over 73 and trailed Woods by six strokes. "Obviously the condition improved and there was a little bit of adrenaline. I was happier with my game today than I was yesterday [when he shot 68]. That says a funny thing about golf, doesn't it?"

Where's Faldo?

Nick Faldo, who finished seventh at the 2000 Open at Pebble Beach, climbed onto the leader board, if not quite contention, with a 4-under 66. It put the 44-year-old Englishman, at 2-over 212, tied for eighth with Justin Leonard.

"That was as good as my heyday," said Faldo, a Hall of Famer who won three Masters and three British Opens, his most recent major championship coming with Greg Norman's infamous collapse at Augusta in 1996. 'That was as good as 10 years ago, maybe as good as Augusta when I won."

Faldo, who is playing here on a special exemption from the USGA, has endeared himself to the New York crowds by wearing an "I Love NY" hat after being part of the ad campaign's 25th anniversary celebration.

Faldo hopes that his play this week will be a springboard for next month's British Open.

"This has given me a good boost," he said. "If I keep working on things I've been doing the last month, then it will be nice to think that I could [win again]. If the wind blows the right way for me, you never know."

Tiger pause

Several fans from the Baltimore-Washington area made it up to the Open yesterday.

Ken Etzler, who owns a dental lab in Annapolis, took the train down on Friday night to see Woods. He wasn't disappointed.

Standing near the fifth tee, Etzler had a rare unobstructed view of the world's top player.

"I was waiting in this spot for an hour just to see him play," said Etzler, who had seen Woods at the 1997 Open at Congressional.

Down the fairway, Ted Emerson of Kensington and Peter Butler of University Park watched Woods go by.

Emerson, a marathoner, was impressed by Woods' physical condition.

"I expect him to win, he's in better shape than anyone," he said.