And he played well, carding 71 to take a two-shot lead into Sunday's final round.
This one hurt far more because he had a two-shot lead when he stepped to the 16th tee.
Kuchar had to make a 5-foot par putt to keep the two-shot margin, and Chappell kept coming at him.
Meanwhile, rookie Russel Henley took a two-shot lead at the halfway stage of the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawaii.
Woods eventually was given a two-shot penalty for the illegal drop, but he was not disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard.
Kerr's sidehill chip left her a long two-putt, and Pettersen's birdie created a two-shot swing and put her in front at -11.
Kuchar posted his second successive round of 70 to claim a two-shot lead from fellow Americans Kevin Chappell (68) and Kyle Stanley (73).
That gave him a two-shot cushion and allowed him to stick to his cautious strategy on Sunday instead of attempting a Mickelsonian charge.
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The 53-year-old carded five birdies on his back nine, including one from out of a bunker at 17, to claim a two-shot lead.
But his wait for a victory was soon over as he held on for a two-shot win at the Huntingdale course in Melbourne.
But in fact the ball was in play after the first drop - so he incurred a two-shot penalty, leading to the horrendous sextuple-bogey.
Woods played it safe from the rough on the final hole and made bogey for a 2-under 70, giving him a two-shot win over Rose.
Kuchar missed only one fairway and held off a hard-charging Kevin Chappell over the last three holes to close with a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory.
There was the illegal drop by Woods, who was given a two-shot penalty over questions and confusion about why he was not disqualified for signing an incorrect card.
The world number 37 was briefly joined by Els at three under but moved into a two-shot lead after his only birdie of the day on the fifth.
Woods took a drop but later conceded he had not taken the drop at the same place as the original spot -- an infringement that warrants a two-shot penalty.
Starting the final round with a two-shot lead, he made a 15-foot birdie putt on the opening hole and led by at least two shots for all but two holes.
He recouped one shot on the eighth, but gave that back on the 10th before birdies on 14 and 15 ensured he takes a two-shot lead into the final round.
Ignoring advice from doctors to rest, Beljan played on over the weekend and carded a three-under-par round of 69 on Sunday, which secured him a two-shot victory over compatriot Matt Every.
In the United States, American Ben Curtis claimed a two-shot lead at the halfway stage in the Texas Open after his second successive round of 67 on Friday at the PGA Tour event.
Petterson had led for the first half of a tournament was hit by heavy rain and thunderstorms, but faltered with a third-round 72 and received a two-shot penalty in his opening hole of the decider.
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Watney, who was runner-up at the WGC-CA Championship event in March, could have led by even more, but bogeyed his final hole after three-putting to have a two-shot buffer over Germany's Martin Kaymer and Irishman Shane Lowry.
Jones called it his "most inglorious failure" but he subsequently became synonymous with fair play and grace, calling a two-shot penalty on himself at the 1925 U.S. Open before missing out on the title by one stroke.
Only a handful of players made it out onto the course before play was suspended, with halfway leader Tiger Woods holding a two-shot advantage after 36 holes as he and most of the field waited for their new tee-off times.
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Davis made a play-off against former US Open champion Jim Furyk at the Verizon Heritage event but called a penalty on himself for illegally striking a reed with his backswing, suffering a two-shot penalty which effectively handed the title to Furyk.
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It was with the putter, though, that the Irishman really paved the way for his two-shot win over home favourite Sergio Garcia, averaging 26.5 putts a round on his way to a birdie count of 18 on the treacherous Valderrama greens.
Thompson holed a 50-foot eagle putt on the third hole, relied on a superb short game around the toughest part of the golf course to build a four-shot lead, and hung on for a two-shot win over Geoff Ogilvy that takes him places he always wanted to be.
Navarro hit a solo homer just over the basket at the wall in left-center in the second to break a 1-all tie and added a two-run shot down the left-field line off John Danks (0-1) in the fourth, with both drives coming from the right side.
Suzuki followed a walk by Travis Hafner with his two-run shot in the second inning, and Overbay followed a double by Jayson Nix with his two-run homer.
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