Gamez & Hayes top leaderboard

Robert Gamez, winless since taking two events as a rookie in 1990, shot a 5-under 66 Saturday for a share of the third-round lead with J.P. Hayes in the John Deere Classic.

``I squeezed the most out of my game today,'' Gamez said. ``I was a little disappointed in my performance early in the round and I made some good putts on a couple of holes on the front nine that kept me going. It just was one of those days to hang in.

``Then on the back nine, I actually starting hitting some good shots. I putted very well today.''

Hayes, the second-round co-leader after a course-record 61, had a 67 to match Gamez at 18-under 195 on the TPC at Deere Run. Hayes birdied four of the last five holes after parring the first 13.

``I hung tough with some good pars on the first 13 holes,'' Hayes said. ``I gave myself a lot of birdie chances and didn't make any of those. It was a little disappointing that the birdie putts weren't falling, but at the end, things just really started to click. I started hitting it close and made some real good putts.''

The start of the round was delayed nearly five hours because of a morning thunderstorm. Because of the wet conditions, players were allowed to lift, clean and place their balls in the fairways.

Mike Heinen, who opened with a 63 to top the field after the first round, was three strokes back at 15 under after a 66.

Chris Riley (66) and 2001 runner-up Briny Baird (68) followed at 14 under, and Tim Petrovic (68) was another stroke back.

Defending champion David Gossett shot a 67 to top an eight-player group at 12 under.

Fred Funk, tied with Hayes after the second round, also was 12 under after a 73. After opening with two bogey-free 64s, Funk bogeyed three of the first five holes in the third round.

Gamez, who won the 1990 Tucson Open in his first official tour start, birdied the par-5 10th to grab a share of the lead with Hayes and Heinen, then took the lead with a birdie at the 11th. Gamez added birdies on Nos. 14, 17 and 18 to reach 18 under.

Hayes, the 1998 Buick Classic winner, made a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 14, and closed the round with consecutive birdie putts of 7, 15 and 15 feet.

``It was difficult to judge the wind,'' Hayes said. ``It was inconsistent in direction and velocity.

``I didn't feel like I played conservatively, but at times the middle of the green was a good shot. It would have been easy to start making mistakes and suddenly shoot yourself right out of it. Par meant a lot more today.''

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