Allenby moves two ahead with 65

The third round of the Western Open should have come with a warning label.

Caution: Watching the leaderboard could cause motion sickness.

After six players charged to the top and just as quickly slid back, Robert Allenby finally took charge Saturday. He eagled the par-5 15th and then followed it with a birdie, shooting a 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead.

``Making eagles gives you a lot of confidence,'' said Allenby, who was at 15-under 201 after 54 holes. ``But if you back it up on the next hole with a bad hole, you can lose it pretty quickly.''

No chance of that. The 2000 Western Open champion kept a tight grip on his lead and is one round from joining Nick Price and Tiger Woods as two-time winners.

``There's a long way to go,'' Allenby said. ``In 18 holes, anything can happen. A two-shot lead is not a lot when you're playing such a good field.

``Two shots in front is better than two behind, that's for sure,'' he added. ``I'm in the best position possible. I know if I go out there and make some birdies early in the round, it can only make things tougher if I do that on everyone behind me.''

Especially when he's got so many players tailing him. There are 16 players within six strokes of Allenby, and another 10 are within eight.

Neal Lancaster, who hasn't won since 1994, was at 203 after a 5-under 67. Jerry Kelly and Bob Estes were at 204, and Davis Love 
d, there were 24 players within three strokes of the lead.

``I think you'll find that most years, apart from last year, the field here is always pretty bunched up,'' Allenby said. ``It's the type of golf course that it's hard to get away from a lot of players because a lot of players shoot around that 4-, 5-under mark.''

Finally, though, he broke through the logjam. After his only bogey of the day, on the par-3 6th, he birdied the last two holes on the front nine.

But his big move came on No. 15, when he was a stroke off the lead. In the first cut of rough off the tee, he hit a 4-iron, flying it straight at the pin. It landed on the green and rolled, stopping about 15 feet from the cup.

He made the eagle putt easily, dropping to 14-under for the lead. He followed it with a birdie on the par-4 16th, and nobody could catch him.

``I was trying to make a birdie on 16,'' he said, ``just to try and keep the momentum going.''

He could have widened the gap even further, but his 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th curled and stopped about 2 inches from the hole.

``Tomorrow's an important day for me,'' said Allenby, who has two top-10 finishes this year. ``I'd love to go out tomorrow and play as good as I can and give it a good shake to try and win the tournament.''

So, too, would Lancaster. Best known for shooting 29 -- twice -- in nine holes at the U.S. Open, he had eight birdies during his round as he searches for his first win since the 1994 Byron Nelson.

Problem was, he also had a double-bogey and a bogey Saturday.

``If I can do what Neal Lancaster can do, maybe I'll have a chance with three or four holes left,'' he said. ``People don't understand how hard it is to win one of these tournaments. All 156 guys in the field, they play great golf.

``But if you don't have it together emotionally, you're kind of introuble.''

Divots

Allenby's 65 was his career-low at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club. ... Attendance Saturday was 38,762, down from the last five years. That could be due to the absence of Woods, who skipped the tournament for the first time since he turned professional. ... First-round leader David Gossett is at7-under 209, eight strokes back.

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