Geiberger & Lehman share lead

Tom Lehman turned 40 and suddenly, the putts stopped falling.

That was five years ago, and he has one victory since.

"I tried to improve my putting by changing my method and I completely lost my putting stroke," Lehman said.

Now armed with a long putter, he might be ready to win again.

The 1996 British Open champion bounced back from an early bogey for a 3-under 69 Saturday to join Brent Geiberger (71) at the top of the leaderboard in the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro at 12 under. Four players -- including 2001 PGA champ David Toms -- were one shot back, with another 10 players within four strokes of the lead.

"I'm sick and tired of finishing second," Lehman said. "The idea of winning is you have to prove to yourself that you can win."

Last week at the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas, Lehman led going into the final day before eventually finishing in a tie for second, one shot back. The 45-year-old Minnesotan has five career victories but none since the 2000 Phoenix Open.

One of the best ball strikers on tour, Lehman hasn't finished out of the top 10 in greens in regulation since 1999. This year, he's fifth in that category and 106th in putting, leading to the switch of clubs at the Bell Canadian Open.

After a 74 in the first round with a conventional putter, he closed with scores of 70, 70 and 64 to tie for fourth.

"Shooting 64 at the Canadian Open and actually having a few other chances, which I didn't capitalize on, proved to me that I had the game to win still," Lehman said. "I've got everything to gain."

Geiberger, who led after the second round, missed a 4-footer for par on the 17th after a nifty blast out of a sand trap. He has his own streak to worry about - he hasn't won since 1999.

"I felt pretty comfortable out there," Geiberger said. "I'm looking forward to it, looking forward to the challenge."

Currently 144th on the money list, he needs a good tournament to avoid returning to qualifying school for the first time since 1996. He certainly has his share of physical ailments this week, including a sore hip and a cold that appears to be getting worse each day.

He blamed his bogey on No. 17 on simply feeling poorly.

"I was on fumes out there," Geiberger said. "I was just trying to keep my head on straight out there. I did a pretty good job of it."

Matt Gogel had the best round among the leaders, a 66 to join Toms (71), Michael Allen (68) and Joe Ogilvie (70) at 11 under. Defending champ Shigeki Maruyama shot a 68 to finish two strokes back.

This likely is Gogel's final tournament of the season; he doesn't enjoy playing on the Bermuda greens used at the final two events in Florida before the The Tour Championship. He did leave open the possibility of adding one to his schedule if he wins here.

"For me to go down there, I would be a basket case," Gogel said. "It's been a long year. We're talking mid-October now and Halloween is coming up. I live in Kansas City, so we're ready to get the snow shovels out."

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Last season, he interviewed for a club job with Donald Trump.

"I've got to take care of my family one way or the other," he said. "They're not going to go out and take care of themselves."

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