Tom Pernice Jr. was having a mediocre round until surprising himself with a spectacular stretch that pushed his name atop a shuffled leaderboard.
Pernice had an eagle and four birdies during a five-hole run and his 66 Saturday gave him the third-round lead at the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich.
“The way I was going along, I never dreamed I would get to 6 under,” he said. “Being patient pays off sometimes.”
Jesper Parnevik (64), Scott Verplank (69) and Brian Bateman (69) were a shot back entering the final round.
Former Buick Open champions Jim Furyk (71), Kenny Perry (71) and Woody Austin (69) were in a group of five players two strokes behind the leader. Pernice and Verplank have also won at Warwick Hills, where a $882,000 check is up for grabs without regulars Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh around to dominate.
Woods (with his wife and baby) and Singh (resting a sore elbow) are not playing the Buick Open for the first time since 2001 after combining to win four of the previous five.
After playing the first 12 holes even par, Pernice eagled No. 13 then ripped off four straight birdies before finishing with a par.
Parnevik made the big move Saturday, going from a tie for 46th into a tie for second with an 8 under. He had the best round – by two strokes – as Warwick Hills became tougher with firm greens.
Champions Tour: Lonnie Nielsen had a stretch of five birdies in seven holes on the back nine and his 7-under 64 gave him a record-tying three-stroke lead over Tom McKnight after two rounds of the Commerce Bank Championship in East Meadow, N.Y.
Nielsen, who didn’t win in his five years on the PGA Tour or in his five seasons on the Champions Tour, had a 12-under 130 total after 36 holes on the 7,011-yard Red Course at Eisenhower Park.
The three-shot lead matches the tournament record set by Bruce Fleisher in 1999 and 2000, and equaled by Jay Sigel in 2001.
European PGA: Soren Hansen of Denmark shot a 5-under 66 to lead by one stroke after the third round of the French Open in Versailles.
Hansen, who had an eagle at the third hole after almost chipping in, is at 7-under 206.
