Barnes and Piercy start, stay and lead together

OPELIKA, Ala. -- Playing partners Ricky Barnes and Scott Piercy started the third round with similar birdies and ended it with matching scores -- and the lead.

They each shot 6-under 65 on Saturday to share the lead in the PGA Tour's inaugural Barbasol Championship. Barnes and Piercy reached 13-under 200 on Grand National's Lake Course, and will be paired together again while jockeying for the top spot today.

The pairing worked well for both in the third round.

"We were both hitting solid shots, giving ourselves good looks," Barnes said. "And we both got off to a great start. We both holed about an 18- 20-footer on the first hole. So we saw balls going in the hole, saw good shots. Not so much competing, but kind of feeding off each other."

Piercy, who birdied four of the first five holes, has won twice on the PGA Tour.

"I've won a couple of times where I think a couple of the guys that are up there haven't won yet," Piercy. "I think that probably a bigger advantage is that I've gotten it done a couple of times. Not worried about locking up my card this week or stuff like that is another advantage."

Count Barnes, who had birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, among the winless. He's seeking his first PGA Tour victory in 202 events.

Barnes came closest to victory with a runner-up finish in the 2009 U.S. Open. That also was the only other time he held or shared a 54-hole lead.

Second-round co-leaders Whee Kim and Mark Hensby were among five players a shot back. Both shot 68 in the event for players who failed to make the British Open field. Jason Gore had a 63, Will Wilcox a 65, and Emiliano Grillo a 67 to join the group at 12 under.

Hensby, 43, from Australia, surged with a 4-under performance over the final three holes, starting with an eagle on the par-5 16th. He had fallen to 8 under.

He has limited tour status after battling rotator cuff problems in his right shoulder. Hensby won the 2004 John Deere Classic for his only PGA Tour title.

Kim was similarly up and down. He had four birdies on the first nine holes then a five-hole span that included three bogeys and two more birdies.

Gore knocked 10 strokes off his Friday score, when he had five bogeys for a 73. He rebounded with a bogey-free round and birdies on five of the final eight holes.

"Shockingly enough, I was still pretty positive," said Gore, whose only PGA Tour victory came a decade ago. "I knew I wasn't out of this golf tournament, I was only 5 back as bad as I played [Friday]."

Wilcox, a former Alabama-Birmingham star, was 6 under over the final nine holes, including an eagle on the par-5 16th.

"My putter kind of came alive," he said.

Wilcox might have jitters before his final round but that's nothing new.

"I'll be nervous at the start, but I'm pretty much nervous every round I play," he said. " Once I get settled in, that's when I can chill out."

Austin Cook (Jonesboro, Arkansas Razorbacks) had an eagle, five birdies and a bogey for a 6-under 65 and a 9-under 204 total. He is tied for 12th.

Glen Day (Little Rock) and Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) are among a group of four tied for 18th at 8-under 205. Duke shot a 2-under 69 and Day had a 1-under 70 on Saturday.

LPGA

Jang 1 stroke ahead

SYLVANIA, Ohio -- Ha Na Jang shot a 2-under 69 on Saturday, leaving her a stroke ahead with one round left in the LPGA Tour's rain-plagued Marathon Classic.

The South Korean had an 11-under 202 total at Highland Meadows. Fighting back pain, she opened with rounds of 66 and 67 and has only two bogyes over the first 54 holes.

Play was delayed for 1 hour, 59 minutes in the afternoon and delays Friday forced 54 players to complete the second round Saturday morning.

South Korea's Q Baek was second. She birdied the final hole for a 68.

Defending champion Lydia Ko, ranked No. 2 in the world, was 9 under along with top-ranked Inbee Park,

Chella Choi, Austin Ernst and Shanshan Feng. Ko and Park shot 67, Choi had a 65, Ernst a 66, and Feng a 68.

Third-ranked Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) was tied for 23rd at 5 under after a 69.

WEB.COM

Trio tied for lead

Si Woo Kim, Wes Roach and Jamie Lovemark were tied Saturday at 10-under 200 after the third round of the Stonebrae Classic at Hayward, Calif.

Julian Etulain, Matt Davidson, Ben Kohles, Travis Bertoni and Darron Stiles were tied for fourth at 9 under.

Rhein Gibson, John Chin and Greg Yates were tied for ninth at 8 under.

Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot an even-par round of 70 and is at 6 under after three rounds. Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) had a 1-under 69 for a 2-under 208. Zack Fischer (Little Rock) did not make the cut.

Sports on 07/19/2015

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