Briggs joins Rinker to share lead

Danny Briggs says Sunday’s final round of the $400,000 BUY.COM Shreveport Open will be a dogfight.

Briggs fired a 5-under-par 67 to grab a share of the third-round lead with Larry Rinker at 13-under 203. Rinker, the leader after each of the first two rounds, poster a 1-under 71 to allow the field to catch up as they chase the first-place check of $72,000.

Brian Claar, who shot 68 on Saturday, and Kent Jones (70) share third place at 12 under, just one stroke behind the leaders. Ted Purdy matched Saturday’s best round with a 6-under 66 and is at 11 under, two back.

Craig Kanada (66), John Riegger (67), Keith Clearwater (70) and Tripp Isenhour (71) are only three off the pace at the Southern Trace Country Club. There are 14 players within five strokes of Briggs and Rinker heading into Sunday’s closing 18.

"With me only shooting one under today, now there’s a lot of guys that can win this tournament. It’s pretty wide open," said Rinker, who owned a two-stroke advantage after each of the first two rounds. "I let a lot of guys back in it and that happens when the leader doesn’t play well on Saturday."

Rinker didn’t play particularly well on the front nine, missing a lot of fairways to the left and shooting a 2-over 38 to fall out of the lead.

"I was behind at that point and I had to start making some birdies," said Rinker, who found the short grass only 6-of-14 times off the tee. "I was going the wrong way there and losing ground fast."

Rinker was able to right the ship with an up-and-down birdie from the front bunker on the par-5 10th hole, rolling in a 10-footer. An 8-iron to 15 feet on the par-3 13th helped him regain some momentum. Another birdie on the par-5 17th helped him regain a share of the lead with Briggs, who had completed his round about 30 minutes earlier.

"There’s a little more anxiety when you’re in the last group on Saturday versus the first two rounds," said Rinker, whose lone PGA TOUR-related victory came at the 1985 JCPenney/Mixed Team Classic. "I just wasn’t as focused as I had been the first two days.

"My commitment wasn’t as good but I was real happy playing the last nine holes the way I did. That’s the nice thing about it when you have a little bit of a lead and you have some room. A lot of guys gained ground on me today, but a good round tomorrow and I’m in good shape."

Rinker and his longtime friend Briggs will share the final pairing Sunday. "Man, it’s going to be interesting," said Briggs. "But, it’s going to be fun, too."

Briggs joined the hunt Saturday by turning the difficult front side with a two-under 34. "As the round progresses and you start hitting some solid shots, you start to gain some confidence," he said. "When you have some confidence it takes away the fear."

Briggs improved his disposition Saturday by finally solving Southern Trace’s par 5s. He had played them in just 1 under for the first two days, but was able to birdie three of the four in round three.

"That was key for me," he said. "I was really pleased with that. I had a couple of good chances at eagle, but I was just glad to make birdie."

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