Byrd Leads B.C. Open by One After 68

Jonathan Byrd shot a four-under-par 68 on Saturday to maintain his one-shot lead after three rounds of the B.C. Open.

Byrd, who had never led a tournament after three rounds, was at 16-under 200 but had a flock of challengers at Endicott, N.Y.

Robert Gamez, Ted Purdy, Tommy Tolles, Notah Begay and John Morgan were tied for second. Purdy, Gamez and Tolles each shot 65, Begay had a 66 and Morgan a 68 to finish at 201.

Colombian rookie Camilo Villegas, who was alone at 202 after a 67, led another group of 20 players within four strokes of the top.

Among the challengers, Gamez and Begay were the most unlikely.

Gamez opened with a 75 but shot 11-under 61 in the second round to equal the tournament record, then had his second straight bogey-free round.

“The old me probably would have shot 80 the second day, but I’ve been playing extremely well, so my first round didn’t bother me at all,” said Gamez, who hasn’t won on tour since 1990.

Begay had a first-round 73, then rallied with 10 birdies for a 62 on Friday. He charged toward the top on Saturday with four birdies on the back nine and was looking forward to the final round.

“It’s a horse race,” said Begay, who has four PGA Tour victories but none in four years. “The guys in the front aren’t guaranteed anything.”

Play was delayed by lightning in late afternoon for just over a half hour, and the soggy En-Joie Golf Club course has been hit repeatedly by rain showers all week, forcing tournament officials to allow the players to lift, clean and replace their balls.

With more heavy weather forecast for the afternoon today, threesomes will go off both the first and 10th tees in an effort to get the round in.

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Seeking her first victory in 13 years, Michelle Estill shot a five-under 67 to share the lead with Young-A Yang, a second-year pro chasing her first career win, after the rain-delayed second round of the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic at Vienna, Ohio.

The top 17 money-winners on the tour aren’t in the field, mostly because they are preparing for the rich Evian Masters in Paris next week and then staying in Europe for the year’s final major, the Women’s British Open.

“You’ve still got to shoot a number,” Estill said after finishing the first 36 holes at six-under 138.

Laura Diaz shot a 70 and was a shot back at 139 along with Moira Dunn, who had a 69.

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Ryan Moore needed only 31 holes to defeat Dayton Rose in the 36-hole match-play finals, 6 and 5, and win his second U.S. Amateur Public Links championship at Maple Grove, Minn.

Moore, a senior-to-be at Nevada Las Vegas, never trailed in his final five matches at Rush Creek Golf Club, covering 88 holes.