Morgan takes one-shot lead



Only three players broke par in the third round.
EDMOND, Okla. (AP) -- Gil Morgan fought through brisk winds Saturday at Oak Tree Golf Club to post a par 71 and take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Senior PGA Championship.
Playing on his home course, Morgan had three birdies and three bogeys but fared better than playing partners Peter Jacobsen and Brad Bryant to move closer to winning his first Champions Tour major since the 1998 Senior Players Championship.
Jacobsen, the second-round leader, shot a 75 and Bryant had a 72. Morgan was at 6 under, one stroke ahead of Bryant. Jacobsen was tied with Loren Roberts, three strokes behind Morgan. Only three players broke par, and six others shot par in the third round.
Morgan birdied the first hole to match Jacobsen at 7 under before Jacobsen ran into trouble midway through the front nine and fell back amid winds gusting up to 35 mph.
Bryant, seeking his first Champions Tour title, surged into the lead with a birdie on No. 7, a hole that both Morgan and Jacobsen bogeyed. Morgan hit his second shot into a small bush and scrambled to get away only one shot behind Bryant.
Changing fortunes
But fortunes changed at No. 9, where Morgan hit his drive into rough beneath a tree line along the right side of the fairway but chipped onto the green and sank a putt for birdie. Bryant missed the fairway to the left and it took him three shots to get onto the green and make bogey.
Bryant then made double bogey on the par-4 11th and bogey at the par-4 14th to fall behind the others. He chipped in for birdie at No. 15 and responded to Morgan's birdie at No. 16 with one of his own at the par-4 18th. Bryant had been 7 under on the back nine through two rounds, but ended up 1 over on that side in the third.
Roberts, a three-time winner this year who's looking to win his second straight major, was tied with Jacobsen for third after an eagle on No. 16 pulled him to par for the round.
Jay Haas, the 2004 runner-up, had three of his five bogeys on the front nine and finished with a 73. He and 2005 player of the year Dana Quigley were tied for fifth at 2 under.
Unique opportunity
The 59-year-old Morgan entered the tournament thinking it would be a unique opportunity to win a major on his home course because he didn't expect another to come to Oak Tree while he's still playing. He has downplayed the impact of his membership at Oak Tree, saying he hasn't played a full round on the course since October and noting that the green structures have been altered recently.
But others, including fellow Oak Tree member Doug Tewell, said the real advantage would come when the golfers had to play in the wind.
Morgan, who saw his nine-year streak with at least one win on the Champions Tour end last year, hasn't won since the SBC Classic in 2004.
He won his second career start on the tour at the 1996 Ralphs Senior Classic to become the youngest Champions Tour winner at the time. Now, he's trying to become the oldest golfer to win on the tour this year and accomplish a rare feat for a golfer his age.
Only 24 of the tour's 802 tournaments since 1980 have been won by players 59 or older.
Morgan would be the oldest Senior PGA Championship winner since Sam Snead in 1973 and the fourth oldest of all time.
Jock Hutchinson, who won the first Senior PGA title in 1937 and repeated 10 years later at age 62, is the oldest player to win the tournament.
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