GOLF ROUNDUP : Whippersnapper Colbert Catches Rodgers in Tradition

Jim Colbert, a rookie on the Senior PGA Tour, shot a five-under-par 67 Saturday to catch faltering Phil Rodgers for a share of the lead after three rounds of The Tradition at Scottsdale, Ariz.

Rodgers, winless in three senior seasons, started the day at 12 under with a six-shot lead over Colbert and four others. He had five bogeys and a double-bogey in his round of 73.

Rodgers tied Colbert for the lead by chipping in from the bunker for an eagle on the 18th hole.

Colbert joined the tour after turning 50 March 9. He is playing in his third senior event.

Rodgers and Colbert, who hasn’t won a tournament since the 1983 Colonial on the PGA Tour, were both at 11-under 205 heading into the final round of the $800,000 tournament.

The champion earns $120,000, more than Colbert won in 20 of his 22 PGA Tour seasons and almost half of what Rodgers has won in his three Senior seasons.

Ben Smith, who briefly led at 10 under before bogeying 14, 15 and 16, was tied for third with Jim Dent at 209. Both shot 71s Saturday in sun-drenched, 90-degree conditions.

Defending champion Jack Nicklaus, making his senior season debut on the 6,864-yard Cochise Course he designed at Desert Mountain, had the day’s best round of 66 to move into contention at 210. He had seven birdies, five on the front nine.

John Paul Cain also was at 210 after shooting 71.

Hometown favorite Chris Johnson eagled the 18th hole to stave off Jan Stephenson and hold a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the $350,000 LPGA event at Tucson.

Johnson, who has been at least a co-leader since the first round, shot a seven-under-par 65 for a 54-hole tournament record of 15-under 201 over the 6,199-yard North Course at Randolph Park. The mark was 204, set by Lori Garbacz in 1989.

Stephenson, still recovering from a broken left ring finger she sustained in a mugging last year, also eagled the par-five, 458-yard final hole for a 65 and 54-hole total of 204.

Johnson, a former University of Arizona standout, has a chance to break her 72-hole tournament record of 16-under 272 that she set when she won the event in 1984.