Rookie Takes B.C. Open Lead

Rookie Brendan Jones of Australia sits atop the leaderboard after three rounds of the B.C. Open at Endicott, N.Y.

Jones, whose best PGA Tour finish this year was a tie for 14th at the Zurich Classic, shot a six-under-par 66 on Saturday to finish at 19-under 197.

He was one shot off the tournament record for 54 holes set by Calvin Peete in 1982 and matched by Steve Lowery in 2003, and it hardly seemed to matter. A dozen players were within four shots.

“You just have to look at the scores. Who knows?” said Jones, who started the round two shots behind 49-year-old David Edwards. “I’m in the position I really want to be. If I play the way I’ve been playing, then, hopefully, only guys two or three back have got a chance.

“We’ll have to wait and see. Hopefully, none can catch me.”

Ryan Palmer (67), Jason Bohn (66) and Arjun Atwal (65) of India, who had a chance to tie Jones but missed a four-foot birdie putt at No. 18, were one shot behind.

Play was halted by rain for 90 minutes in the early afternoon.

Barring a meltdown by every one of the leaders, the tournament record of 22-under 266 since the course was renovated for the 1997 tournament was almost certain to fall. Jeff Sluman and Paul Gow established the mark in 2001. Calvin Peete shot 265 in 1982 when the En-Joie Golf Club course played to par 71.

The PGA record for 72 holes is 26 under (254) by Tommy Armour at the 2003 Bolero Texas Open on a par-70 course.

*

Janice Moodie topped the Canadian Women’s Open field at Halifax for the third consecutive round, shooting an even-par 72 for a one-stroke lead over Angela Stanford.

Moodie had a nine-under 207 total. Stanford birdied the last hole for a 70 and Dorothy Delasin shot a 69 -- matching the best score of the round -- to join Il Mi Chung (72) at seven under.

*

Clay Ogden, who defeated Michelle Wie in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Men’s Public Links Championship, won the title with a 1-up victory over Martin Ureta at Lebanon, Ohio.

Ogden, a junior at Brigham Young, earned the invitation to the 2006 Masters. Ogden and Ureta, a junior at North Carolina, each earned an exemption into this year’s U.S. Amateur.

*

Eun Jun Lee of South Korea rallied from five holes down and defeated Tiffany Chudy, a sophomore at Florida, with a par on the 37th hole at Kansas City, Mo., in the first playoff final in the history of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links championship.