Tiger Woods made a stunning birdie at the final hole to claw into a tie for the lead with Padraig Harrington after the third round at the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan.

After a wild drive forced him to chip out sideways at the par-five 18th, Woods hit a five-wood from 247 yards, his ball driving through the rain and stopping 15 feet beyond the hole, from where he drained the putt, a feat that even impressed Harrington.

"As I said to him on the green, it was worth coming out for that one shot alone today," Harrington said. "Shots like that third shot on 18, that's why he's number one in the world."

That finish was a rare highlight on an otherwise forgettable day for Woods, who struggled to a two-over-par 72 in miserable, persistent rain at Phoenix Country Club. It was his worst third round score this year in relation to par.

But Harrington was not exactly brilliant either, a 71 leaving the Irishman locked with Woods at six-under 204 with one round left, two strokes clear of Shingo Katayama (71) and three in front of Takuya Taniguchi (68).

Woods was delighted with his position.

"If you look at where my tee shot ended up and where Paddy's ended up, it looked like Paddy was going to make birdie and I would struggle to make par, and I would have been three back but now I'm all square, so it was a huge way to escape the day," he said.

Harrington, who bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes just when he had a chance to take a stranglehold on the 200,000,000 yen tournament, agreed: "It was an opportunity for me to get a two or three-shot lead, so it's a little disappointing to be only tied," he said.

"I hit a nice shot on 16 that went over the green and didn't hit a good chip," he said. "That cost me one or two shots and I also made a mental error going into 15. It was a tough day physically and mentally."