BOB HOPE CHRYSLER CLASSIC RELATED STORIES Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Preview Round 1: Joe Durant amongst leaders at Bob Hope Round 2: DJ Trahan & Robert Gamez share lead Round 3: Robert Gamez edges ahead Round 4: Justin Leonard takes over lead with a 66 Round 5: DJ Trahan clinches title with closing 65 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Scores 2008 PGA Tour Schedule and Results 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 GOLF TODAY TOP STORIES Colin Montgomerie plays down Ryder Cup talk Top players absent from Tigers' event Opportunities abound without Tiger playing Olazabal & Clarke miss out on Open Kenny Perry moves back in to World Top 20 Tiger Woods unsure of when he'll return GREAT GIFTS FOR GOLFERS Golf Breaks to Portugal & Ireland Half Price Golf Vouchers InstructaCard - your portable pro! The Father & Son Golf Ch'ship Golf Insurance

Robert Gamez edges ahead

American Robert Gamez birdied his last two holes to grab an early one-shot lead in the Bob Hope Classic third round on Friday.

Making the most of ideal scoring conditions in the California desert, Gamez fired a five-under-par 67 on the Palmer Course at PGA West, one of four venues hosting the event.

Gamez, bidding for his fourth PGA Tour title after finishing outside the top 125 on last year's money list, posted an 18-under total of 198.

Former winner Justin Leonard carded a matching 67 on the same layout to share second place with fellow American D.J. Trahan, who shot a 68 La Quinta Country Club.

U.S. World Cup player Boo Weekley was a further two strokes back in fourth after scorching PGA West in a sparkling 10-under 62, the lowest round of the week.

Leonard, who won the most recent of his 11 PGA Tour titles at last year's Texas Open, believes he is close to the best form of his career.

"All week I've been hitting the ball really well, hitting a lot of fairways, putting the ball in the right spots on the greens and giving myself lots of chances," the 35-year-old told reporters after a bogey-free display.

"I feel like I'm as close now as I have been in a long time. I'm playing with confidence and I like the way I'm rolling the ball. I don't have a lot of swing thoughts. I'm just trying to make it as simple as possible.

"All of the work I did last year is really paying off because so much has now become habit," added the 2005 champion. "It's made the game a lot easier for me."

Trahan, joint pacesetter with Gamez overnight in the 90-hole pro-am celebrity event, was pleased to remain in the title hunt after failing to capitalize on the benign conditions.

"Although I didn't shoot a low number today, I definitely didn't feel like I shot myself out of the tournament with four under par," the 27-year-old said. "Unfortunately I made three bogeys but overall it was another pretty good round of golf.

"It's tough to play great golf five days in a row. Joe (Durant) did it in 2000 and guys have done it in the past.

"But you feel like at least one, if not two, of those days it's going to be tough to shoot that six or seven under that you feel like you need to shoot every day."