Last year Sergio Garcia faded into the background as he played the last round of the Open Championship in the final group alongside eventual winner Tiger Woods.

Twelve months on, Garcia finds himself in the last group a round earlier and faced with the task of keeping the world number one at a safe distance.

The 27-year-old Spanish star went into today's third round at Carnoustie with a two-shot lead over Korea's KJ Choi after adding a 71 to his brilliant opening 65 - an incredible 24 shots less than his first round at the course in 1999.

Woods was down in a share of 20th after struggling to a 74 which began with a hooked iron out of bounds on the first and featured numerous wild shots and lucky breaks before a closing bogey.

Choi is the most in-form man in golf right now with two victories in his last three events, and Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo admits Garcia faces a tough challenge to claim his first major title after 12 previous top-10 finishes.

"It will be a mental battle for him," said six-time major winner Faldo. "The last dozen or so weekends he's had a tough time.

"He's coming up against a guy who has shown some real mettle the way he's finished off the two events he's won. When Sergio has been in there he's had a tough time but the belly putter has obviously been a good thing for confidence."

Garcia's best finish in a major remains his second place behind Woods at Medinah in 1999, which came just weeks after he had crashed to rounds of 89 and 83 at Carnoustie.

It looked just a matter of time before the prodigiously talented 19-year-old won a major, but the dominance of Woods inevitably contributed to a number of near misses.

Asked about winning a first major, Garcia said: "I'm always going to say the same thing. I'm not bothered. I don't really care. I'm trying, I can tell you that. I'm trying to win as many majors as I can, I'm trying to give myself good options and good looks at winning majors. That's all I can do.

"Sometimes you play well and don't win and some of the time you don't play maybe as well and you manage to win.

"Last year I managed to shoot 23 under in the last two majors (11 under at Hoylake and 12 under in the USPGA at Medinah) and didn't win. Sometimes you just have to give it up for the guy that does it and there's nothing else you can do, just keep trying."

Compatriot Miguel Angel Jimenez shares third place with former US Masters champion Mike Weir, with American duo Jim Furyk and Boo Weekley another stroke back on two under.

Lee Westwood and Alastair Forsyth lead the British challenge on one under, with Paul Broadhurst, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley six off the lead on level par.

McGinley was second after an opening 67 but never recovered from a terrible start to his second round, dropping three shots in the first three holes, the 40-year-old Dubliner eventually signing for a 75.