Chad Campbell birdied the final hole Saturday
to join Scott Piercy atop the leaderboard after the third round of the Justin
Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Campbell, a second-round co-leader, posted a four-under 67 on Saturday, while
Piercy, a PGA Tour rookie, fired a six-under 65. The pair is knotted at 17-
under 196 and is one stroke ahead at the TPC Summerlin.
Martin Laird, another tour rookie, carded a four-under 67 and is alone in
third place at minus-16.
Jason Bohn (65), Jeff Klauk (66), Bob Heintz (68) and 2007 champion George
McNeill (63) share fourth place at 15-under 198.
Everyone is chasing a couple of players with some local ties.
Campbell attended UNLV for his collegiate golf and that was after Tiger Woods
turned down the school to go to Stanford. Piercy is a Las Vegas native and
still lives in Sin City.
Piercy is in the middle of an amazing week no matter Sunday's outcome. His
wife Sara gave birth to the couple's third child on Thursday and if this
tournament was anywhere but home, Piercy would've withdrawn.
But he's here and poised to become the first PGA Tour rookie to win this
season.
"I'd love to win first of all, but having a kid in the same week and being
home, it's like Mecca," said Piercy.
He wasted little time in getting into red figures with a birdie at the
first. Piercy's next birdie came at the par-three fifth, but he dropped a shot
thanks to a bogey at No. 6.
Piercy was 12-under par for the championship and got going again around the
turn. He birdied nine and 10 and suddenly found himself in the mix near the
top of the leaderboard.
At the par-five 13th, Piercy recorded another birdie, but still trailed
Campbell, who got to 18-under par. Piercy wasn't done making birdies. At the
15th, he sank a 15-footer for birdie, then made it two in a row with a tap-in
at 16.
That birdie at 16 tied him with Campbell, but the second-round co-leader blew
by Piercy with a birdie at 15. Campbell had a horrible time on the 16th and
Piercy was alone in the lead.
Piercy parred his last two and was joined by Campbell in front later in the
day. This is a familiar spot for Piercy of late. He shared the 54-hole lead
two weeks ago at the Turning Stone Resort Championship, but a final-round 73
dropped him into a tie for 12th.
"My legs have been weak all week," said Piercy. "It's been good overall. Just
taking it one shot at a time, which is the whole thing."
Campbell had a tough time getting going on Saturday. He parred his first five
holes, but broke into red figures with a nine-foot birdie putt at the par-four
sixth.
Campbell was near the top of the leaderboard, but his approach at 12 vaulted
him to the very top. His second shot from the fairway from almost 130 yards
out landed six feet short, then rolled in for an eagle.
That eagle gave him the lead and jump started some great golf. He hit an
amazing approach from under a tree at the par-five 13th and holed the birdie
putt.
Campbell drained an eight-footer for birdie at the 15th and was still alone in
first.
Problems arose at the par-five 16th. From the fairway, Campbell's six-iron
second from just over 200 yards came up short and fell back into the water.
After his drop, Campbell knocked his fourth over the green. He pitched five
feet past the stick and missed that for a double-bogey, which dropped him one
behind Piercy.
"It came out a little low," said Campbell of his second at 16. "I actually hit
it pretty good. I needed to get it up in the air a little bit higher.
Unfortunately, I doubled there, but was able to end the round with a birdie on
18."
Campbell hit a great second shot to the par-four final hole. His seven-footer
fell into the bottom of the cup and he grabbed a piece of the 54-hole lead for
the seventh time on tour.
Campbell has had a 2009 that could've been great, but turned out to be
forgettable. He lost a playoff at the Masters to Angel Cabrera and hasn't
posted a top 10 since.
"It is a little tough," admitted Campbell. "You can get down on yourself
pretty quick out here."
Troy Matteson, who shared the second-round lead with Campbell and won this
title three years ago, managed a one-under 70 and is tied for eighth place
with Charley Hoffman (64) and Tom Pernice, Jr. (68). That group is in at 14-
under 199.
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