Georgia fans have favorites

Unless he’s in suburban Atlanta, Ryuji Imada never hears a gallery that barks.

The spectators were even louder this time at Duluth, Ga., however, because the former Georgia Bulldogs standout was paired in the final group with former Georgia Tech star Troy Matteson.

“Say if I was a leader at some other golf tournament, I’m sure it wouldn’t be like this,” Imada said.

Imada and Matteson remained tied for the AT&T; Classic lead Saturday, shooting three-under-par 69s at TPC Sugarloaf to take a two-stroke lead over Camilo Villegas into the final round.

Matteson had plenty of crowd support too.

“It seemed like there were an even number of fans that came out for him and for myself,” Matteson said. “It’s just great when you can involve people like that, and I think that’s going to make those crowds a little bigger tomorrow.”

Imada and Matteson had 13-under 203 totals. Villegas was 11 under after a 68, and Masters champion Zach Johnson (69), local favorite Matt Kuchar (64) and Lee Janzen (67) were 10 under.

Imada, born in Japan, nearly eagled the par-five 18th despite hitting the rear bunker. He tapped in after chipping within a foot of the hole from 95 feet.

Despite hitting only six fairways Saturday and 24 for the tournament, Imada has kept himself atop the leaderboard by leading the event with 26 putts and five saves from six bunkers.

A steady short game is the main reason Imada leads a PGA Tour event for the first time through 54 holes.

“I think about it when I’m practicing or whatever, but everybody has got to win their first event,” Imada said. “Even Tiger [Woods] did, [Phil] Mickelson did, so I’ve got to get mine sometime.”

Matteson had a two-stroke lead over his partner after a birdie at the par-four 14th, but Imada set up his spectacular finish with a birdie at the par-three 16th.

Villegas, a 25-year-old Colombian, moved into a share of the lead with three consecutive birdies before bogeying No. 8.

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Sarah Lee shot a seven-under 65 to take a two-shot lead over Lorena Ochoa after three rounds of the Sybase Classic at Clifton, N.J.

Lee, who has led or shared the lead for the first two rounds, is at 16-under 200, the low 54-hole score on the LPGA Tour this year.

Playing in the final threesome, Lee and Ochoa quickly distanced themselves from the field on a cold and rainy afternoon.

Ochoa was at 14 under after her second consecutive 67. Sherri Steinhauer (70), Kate Golden (67) and Young Jo (70) were seven shots back of Ochoa.

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Bob Gilder overcame back problems to take the second-round lead in the Regions Charity Classic at Hoover, Ala., shooting a six-under 66 that included an eagle and birdie on two of the final three holes.

A morning visit to a chiropractor paid off, and the late surge gave him a two-stroke lead over first-round leader Scott Hoch (71) at 10-under 134.

Seve Ballesteros struggled again in his first Champions Tour start, following his opening 78 with an 81. The five-time major winner was last in the 78-player field at 15 over -- 25 strokes behind Gilder.

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USC freshman Jamie Lovemark finished tied for second and for the second straight day led a quintet of Trojans who fared no worse than par as the USC men’s team qualified for the NCAA finals by tying for third on the final day of the West Regional at Arizona State’s Karsten Golf Course in Phoenix.

USC began and finished the day tied for third with Arizona State. The Trojans and Sun Devils each shot 274 to finish at 40-under 824.

In a regional that included every Pacific 10 Conference team except Washington State (which wasn’t selected), South Carolina won with a 44-under 820, and UCLA finished second at 42-under 822.