Perez extends lead to four

Pat Perez shot an even-par 72 Saturday but still managed to hold onto the lead at the $450,000 Monterey Peninsula Classic.

He has a three-day total of 6-under-par 210 and heads into Sunday's final round with a four-stroke advantage over Arron Oberholser, who shot 73, his first over-par round of the week. Michael Allen (73) is third at 1 under, while J.J. Henry (70), Charlie Wi (71), R.W. Eaks (71) and Kris Cox (72) are even par, six strokes behind the leader.

The number of golfers who are under par continues to shrink at the 7,094-yard Bayonet Golf Course. After 54 holes, only three players remain in the red. The tournament started with 12 players under par on Thursday and dropped to seven after Friday's action.

The 70s shot by Henry and Alan Bratton were the best rounds of the day. Five other golfers shot 71s. Two golfers, Charley Hoffman and Ian Leggatt, who came into the round tied for sixth and eighth, respectively, plummeted with scores that reached double-digits over par.

"This is a scary golf course. This is probably one of the hardest golf courses I have ever played," said Eaks.

Perez began the day with a birdie but quickly faltered with bogeys on his next two holes. The three-stroke lead he owned at the beginning of the round dropped to one when Allen birdied No. 4.

Allen recorded his first bogey of the day on the next hole, though, and added another on No. 9. When the last group made the turn, Perez had his three-stroke lead back.

"Just a terrible day -- I was lucky to shoot 72. Put it that way. I just don't know," said Perez, who is one of just two players with three rounds at par or better.

Perez recorded pars on 15 of his last 16 holes and birdied No. 16 to get to 6 under. "It was just one of those days, when you stand over the ball and don't have a clue what you are doing," said the San Diego resident.

"I still have to go out and play very well tomorrow to win. You can see the scores here. I'm just going to go out and try to do my best and make birdies and pars. Try to minimize the bogeys. Seventy-two tomorrow will probably be -- I'll take it right now."

If anyone can catch Perez it probably would be Oberholser, who basically grew up on this course during his high school and college days. The two played together on Saturday and find themselves in the same group again Sunday.

"Pat was playing really steady and he didn't make any mistakes. When I mean mistakes -- a mistake out here is a double. When you make a bogey it's not really that big of a mistake out here," said Oberholser, who has not made a double bogey and has only four bogeys through the first three rounds.

Oberholser closed out the day with his lone birdie on No. 18. "Just for my sanity it was big," he said. Then he turned to the course superintendent, who was watering the 18th green, and yelled "Don't water them, man; don't water them. I love them when they are nice and firm like this.

"I have one more day. I've shot 66, 67 out at this golf course before," said Oberholser, who won the 1996 Big West tournament played at Bayonet Golf Course. "Tomorrow would be as good a time as any to do it. That's for sure. Who knows. I've got one in the bag, hopefully."

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