CROMWELL, Conn. - On a hot, muggy day when players baked and games wilted at the Buick Championship, experience counted for a lot.
Fred Funk, at 48 preparing for his first Ryder Cup appearance as one of Hal Sutton's two captain's picks, took the third-round lead Saturday at 9 under, shooting 1-under 69 for 9-under 201 and a one-stroke lead over Tom Byrum, 43, and Corey Pavin, 44.
"There was a lot of sweating going on," Pavin said after his 68. "We've got a golf course that requires a lot of intelligent play."
No one shot lights out Saturday, and for the first time this week there were no bogey-free rounds. But the veterans plugged away to give themselves a chance to win today.
If Funk, who shared the second-round lead with rookie Zach Johnson (73), is to win his first event in six years, he must hold off the 20 players within four strokes of the lead. Joey Sindelar (68) and Hunter Mahan (65) were two back, and nine others, including Skip Kendall (66) and Hank Kuehne (71) were 6 under after three rounds.
"It was a pretty good struggle out there today," Funk said. "What I think is going to happen is by the time I tee off, somebody is already going to be in double figures."
Shade was hard to come by at the TPC at River Highlands and, in the muggy conditions, games began to wilt, including Funk's. He and Johnson began the day at 8 under, but after starting out with consecutive birdies Funk lost the lead at the turn when he bogeyed three of the last four holes on the front.
Byrum (67) made his move early with four birdies through 11 but bogeyed two of the closing five holes. Johnson dropped quickly with a bogey and double bogey in the first four holes.
Funk righted himself on the back nine with three birdies. He regained the lead with a 7-foot birdie putt on No. 17.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Vicente Fernandez added some drama to Peter Jacobsen's homecoming party.
Fernandez birdied the final hole for 6-under 66 and a share of the third-round lead with Jacobsen at 12 under in the Tradition at Aloha, Ore., the tour's last major of the season.
Jacobsen, the second-round leader, shot 69. The Portland native was hurt by bogey on No. 17, and his 12-foot birdie putt on 18 stopped about 3 inches short.
Allen Doyle shot 64 to reach 11 under. He wrapped up the round with an eagle and three birdies on the Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club course.
LPGA TOUR: Grace Park closed with an eagle and two birdies for 7-under 65 and the lead after three rounds of the Wachovia Classic in Kutztown, Pa. Park's 17-under 199 was a 54-hole record for the event.
Second-round leader Jill McGill was one behind after 2-under 70, and Soo-Yun Kang (68) was another back at 201. Laura Diaz (67) was three strokes behind, and Nancy Scranton (67) and Lorena Ochoa (69) were at 204.
Players used umbrellas and ice wrapped in towels to combat a heat index that reached 94. Diaz said coping with the heat was "the biggest challenge of the day."
"I think we haven't played in (the heat) for so long, it's a real big shocker," she said.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Thomas Levet shot 9-under 63 and shared the lead with second-round leader Miguel Angel Jimenez at the BMW International Open in Nord Eichenried, Germany, where half a dozen players are vying for European Ryder Cup berths. Jimenez shot 67 and was at 15-under 201 with Levet, who missed the course record by a stroke. Two strokes behind were Retief Goosen (68) and Markus Brier (67). Paul McGinley, Ian Poulter, David Howell and Paul Casey - all within seven strokes of the lead - have the inside track on Ryder Cup spots, but Fredrik Jacobson was tied for fifth, threatening to displace one of them.
FUTURES TOUR: Jenny Gleason of Clearwater shot 69 for 141 to trail leader Jimin Kang (69) by three in the York (Pa.) Newspaper Company Classic. Katie Ruhe of Wesley Chapel shot 75 for 147 and was tied for 42nd.
