Greg Norman struggled to a 75 and will begin Sunday eight shots behind.

"What can happen? I can blow it or I can win. Maybe I'll blow it, but I'm going to enjoy it," said Van de Velde, who has only won one European Tour event, the 1993 Roma Masters, and who is ranked 156th in the world.

The 33-year-old qualifier was at even-par 213 after stretching his overnight one-shot lead to five over Craig Parry and Justin Leonard going into the final round Sunday.

Parry played the week's best round, a 4-under 67, to advance up the leaderboard and share second with 1997 champion Leonard, who carded a 71.

Tiger Woods survived a frustrating day without a birdie and a 74 that left him seven shots behind, even with David Frost and Andrew Coltart in fourth place.

Greg Norman was another shot back after a 75 and stood tied for seventh with Angel Cabrera, who plunged from his overnight second place after a 77.

Van de Velde, who led final qualifying at Monifieth on Monday to get into the Open, took a one-shot lead into the third round after his 68 Friday. A bogey at the second on Saturday did not bode well for his prospects.

But he pulled that shot back at the third with a 10-foot putt before dropping another after driving into rough at the fourth. He rolled in the first of his monster putts at the seventh, from 25 feet, punching the air in defiant triumph as it dropped.

He saved par from 15 feet at the 10th and with a good pitch to six feet at the 11th before dropping a shot at the 12th after driving into a bunker.

His biggest shot came at the 515-yard par-5 14th after driving into a bunker. He pitched out sideways and was 60 yards from the green, left a poor approach 70 feet from the pin -- and rolled it in.

Van de Velde found more bunkers at the 15th and 17th but pitched close enough to save par, then at the last he capped his amazing ride with a 45-foot birdie putt.

"There are a lot of better players than me who have had even more commanding leads and lost, so I'm just going to try not to beat myself. And try to give the course a hard time if it doesn't give me a hard time itself," he said.

"How many times are you going to lead the Open by five or are you going to tee off last at the Open? Not that often, no matter how good you are. I'll just take it as it comes and enjoy it whether I win or whether I shoot 90."

Parry, the stocky Australian who led the 1992 Masters after three rounds, was delighted to be in with a chance.

"I'm only 5-feet-6, but I felt 6-feet tall the way I played," he said after a round that contained six birdies and two bogeys.

Leonard put himself in the chase, which was his target for the week.

"My primary goal was to have a chance to win the tournament going into Sunday. Now I've accomplished that," said Leonard, who was five back in 1997 when he won at Royal Troon.

Woods endured a frustrating day in which his putting went awry in the closing stages.

Without a birdie and playing the relatively easy, 515-yard downwind 14th, he finished pin high 40 feet away in two -- then three-putted.

He missed other makeable putts down the closing stretch and took a double bogey at the tough 17th after driving into a bunker. His only other dropped shot was at the seventh.