Campbell's 61 ties course record



He was in a tie for the third round lead with Brian Gay and Steve Flesch.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Chad Campbell became the third golfer in two years to tie the Colonial course record, and shared the third-round lead after Brian Gay couldn't sustain his fast start Saturday.
Campbell, who learned to play golf in windy conditions growing up in west Texas, shot an early 9-under 61 despite two bogeys and winds of 20-25 mph. He got to 8-under 202 after making the cut over par.
Gay looked like he'd make a record run of his own, with six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and was 8-under round through 12 holes.
But Gay had bogeys on three of his last five holes. He still finished with a season-best 65 and a share of the lead with Campbell and Steve Flesch (67).
Third straight par
Flesch, in one of the last groups, had his third straight under par round. He got to the top of the leader-board with a 20-foot birdie on the 188-yard 16th.
Zach Johnson (68) was two strokes back at 6-under 204, a stroke better than Jesper Parnevik (68) and Craig Perks (70), the first-round leader whose only win came at the 2002 PGA Championship.
Second-round co-leader Justin Leonard shot a 72 and was in a group of seven players tied for seventh at 206. J.L. Lewis shot 75 and fell to a tie for 29th.
Before Kenny Perry and Leonard carded 61s last year, there had been only three 61s in the first 56 Colonials.
Campbell also shot a 61 last year, a record 10-under at the Tour Championship on the way to winning his first PGA Tour event.
He added his second win this year at Bay Hill, but hasn't finished in the top 20 in five tournaments since. Today, he will play in the final group after his record at Hogan's Alley.
History and tradition
"Shooting 61 here with all the history and everything about Hogan, and just the tradition, it doesn't get much better than that," Campbell said.
Campbell didn't have his first par until the sixth hole, starting with a 9-foot eagle putt on the 563-yard No. 1 hole and consecutive birdies. After giving a stroke back by missing the green on the tough 252-yard 4th hole, he made a 32-foot birdie putt at No. 5.
He was 5-under for the day before a three-putt at the 194-yard 8th hole. Then he found a bunker off the No. 9 tee and had to lay up in front of the water fronting the green.
But Campbell's wedge shot from 60 yards landed 10 feet from the pin and he saved par for a front-side 31.
"That really kept my momentum going," Campbell said. "If you don't make that putt, you never know what happens. It kind of knocks all of the air out of you."
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