A birdies'-eye view for Rory Sabbatini

"It's fun to play a course where you actually know where the ball is going. It's been a frustrating year, but this feels good," Sabbatini said.

Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, shot a bogey-free 62, playing the front nine in five-under 30. He has three career PGA Tour victories, but has only one top-10 finish this year.

"Some of my best rounds have come with limited confidence," Johnson said. "I didn't have high expectations coming in. But when I've played well, I've putted well and that was the case today."

Tim Wilkinson (63), 1997 winner Tim Herron (67) and second-round leader Chris Stroud (69) were 11 under, and Mark Wilson (66), Joe Ogilvie (67), Michael H. Thompson (67), Jeff Overton (67) and Tim Petrovic (68) followed at 10 under.

South Korea's In-Kyung Kim remained in position for her first LPGA Tour victory, shooting a three-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead over Angela Stanford in the Longs Drugs Challenge at Danville, Calif.

The 20-year-old Kim, in her second season on the tour, had an 11-under 205 total. Stanford, the Bell Micro LPGA Classic winner last month in Alabama, shot a 67, the best round of the day. She birdied her final three holes, chipping in on No. 16.

Nick Price moved into position for his first win on the Champions Tour, shooting a bogey-free 66 to take a one-shot lead over D.A. Weibring after three rounds of the Senior Players Championship at Timonium, Md.

Starting the day in a fifth-place tie, Price moved up the leaderboard with birdies on three of the first five holes. He then peeled off 11 straight pars before making a 13-foot birdie putt on 17.