They are the lurkers, the guys who are hanging around near the top of the leader board but have managed to stay under the radar while still within a birdie spree of winning the 107th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.

They are Stephen Ames and Justin Rose, who both shot 3-over 73s yesterday and are just three shots off Aaron Baddeley's pace and one behind Tiger Woods.

"Tiger's the guy to beat at this stage right now," said Ames, 43, whose highest finish in the Open was a tie for ninth in 2004 and who missed the cut twice in five previous appearances.

"At this stage, I'm in a wonderful position. I like my chances, obviously. I think anybody within five shots of the lead has got to like their chances."

		Listen In Stephen Ames and Justin Rose are still in contention heading into the final round of the U.S. Open. Excerpts from their press conferences after the third round at Oakmont: Stephen Ames Justin Rose

Ames, a veteran of the PGA Tour and winner of the 2006 Players Championship, does not expect to be overcome by an attack of nerves today, even though this will be a new experience for him.

"Me, nervous? No, I'm going to go out there and have a big smile and have fun with it," he said, smiling. "It's a game, not my life and death. That is my nature."

Ames is counting on his victory at The Players Championship to be a springboard for his performance today.

"I've never been in this position at this caliber of a major, but, at the same time, it's the same players that I beat at The Players Championship. I'm going to have to come on a golf course that doesn't lend itself to too many birdies. So the guy who makes the least mistakes will be the guy to win, probably."

Ames' most costly mistake yesterday was a lack of concentration on No. 7, when he made a double bogey to slip to 5 over and out of a share of the lead that was 3 over at the time. He got a stroke back with a birdie at No. 12, but a bogey at 18 left him with a 73.

"At this stage, pars are good, bogeys are not and doubles aren't," he said. "Middle of the green is good golf out here."

Like Ames, Rose was never too far from the leaders, but always seemed to head in the other direction when he got too close.

"At the end of the day, I'm in the fortunate position to go out there and just chase at it," said Rose, 27, who still is looking for his first victory since joining the PGA Tour in 2004.

He is most remembered for finishing tied for fourth as an amateur in the 1998 British Open, a day before he turned professional. In two previous appearances in the U.S. Open, he tied for fifth in 2003 and missed the cut in '04.

"Basically. my last couple [of] tournaments I've played I've been right in the hunt, right down to the wire, so that should help me," he said. "Obviously, Augusta [the 2007 Masters] is probably the biggest thing I can draw on. I was one back playing 17. I was in the position there where I was doing the chasing and I got on a nice roll. Hopefully, I can feed off those good vibes tomorrow."

Rose finished fifth at the Masters.

His round yesterday included bogeys at Nos. 1, 3, 5, 9 10 and 18 and birdies at Nos. 4, 13 and 14. He has 10 birdies for the week.

"There are birdies on this course," he said. "I made some good putts coming down the stretch today, and that excites me for tomorrow because I felt like I haven't been rolling my putter well all week, and I was excited about what I felt."

Rose realizes the thorny path he'll have to take to come from behind to win this Open.

"The two guys ahead of me, obviously Aaron has played well today and he's a good front-runner," he said. "And Tiger is not bad at front-running, either."