Morgain & Watson lead into last day

Tom Watson did not let discouraging conditions get in the way of recording the best round of the tournament, a 6-under-par 66 that gave him a share of the lead after Saturday's third round of the Senior Tour Championship.

On a cold, cloudy day, Watson had a bogey-free round in which he needed only 23 putts. He picked up where he left off Friday, when he followed a 2-over 74 in the weather-delayed first round with a 5-under 67 in the afternoon.

"If dressed properly for (the weather) and (you) kept your hands warm, it's not cold," Watson said. "The golf course plays a little bit longer because of this, but the greens are holding so well. Your longer shots into the greens stay up by the hole. You have to be careful on this golf course with your shorter shots.

"But honestly, this is not a very tough day to play. The tough day to play was the first day. It was raining and the wind was blowing a little, but the way it was today, it was tough, trying to keep your hands dry and warm and the grips dry."

Temperatures in the 40s are not going to stop Watson from going for his first title since the Senior PGA Championship.

"I'll go out and play when the greens are frozen," he said. "It's fun playing on frozen greens. It's like hitting on concrete. You land on the green and `Boing!' - you have to do a lot of guessing. A lot of hit and giggles."

Watson, who won this event in 2000, is tied with Gil Morgan at 9-under 207 going into Sunday's final round of the exclusive season-ending event, which many golfers consider a major.

"I thought it was very cold out on the range today," Morgan said. "During the day, it seemed to get a little warmer. I was talking to a couple of the players, and we were prepared for it to be colder. I didn't play quite as well as I had played the last two days, especially on the front side. I had a couple of opportunities and let them get away."

If either Morgan or Watson go on to win, they would join Mike Hill and Raymond Floyd as a multiple winner of this event.

Morgan started the day one stroke behind second-round leader Hale Irwin and shot a 3-under 69. He won the BellSouth Senior event in June and is coming off a pair of top-five finishes.

Irwin, the winningest golfer in the history of the Senior Tour and a heavy favorite for Player of the Year honors, struggled to a 1-over 73 and was tied with Fuzzy Zoeller at 6-under 210, three strokes off the lead.

A 35-time winner in eight years on the Senior Tour, Irwin needs to finish fourth or better to surpass $3 million.

Allen Doyle, Larry Nelson, Bob Gilder and Morris Hatalsky form a group four shots off the pace.

Watson played the four par-5s at the Gaillardia Golf and Country Club at even par, but holed a 9-iron from the fairway for an eagle at the par-4 seventh. He also had four birdies.

"It hit the flag and stayed up," Watson said. "The ball stayed up, it went into the hole. Even with my bad eyes, I thought I saw the ball on the green, but they screamed like it was in the hole. That sort of got my round kick-started there.

"I started off with a birdie on the first hole and then struggled with a good par-saving putt on No. 5, and then I was just kind of going along."

Morgan played the front side in even par, but birdied three out of four holes starting on No. 10 to move to 9-under. He finished the round with five straight pars.

"At No. 10, I made a long one off the fringe," said Morgan, who lives in nearby Edmond. "I had a whole lot of mud on the ball. I wasn't anticipating it going in, and it went in."

The 56-year-old Morgan believes the weather could play a part in Sunday's outcome.

"It looks like it's going to rain again, and when it's cold and rainy - I mean, that was miserable the first day," he said. "It was cold and windy a little bit, rain going sideways. Everything was wet. It was complicated. It made everything a lot tougher. I think it will be a significant factor it it rains tomorrow."

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