The skies were cloudy and the conditions were relatively soft. And when he and Doug Martin stepped onto the first tee at the Magnolia Course, they watched the electronic scoreboard go through three pages of names before reaching the guy in second place.

"Twelve people were tied at seven under," Love said. "We knew that somebody would get out and shoot a low score and set the pace."

Love managed just fine, using a birdie-eagle stretch to put distance between him and the field and closing with a 25-foot birdie for a 7-under-par 65 and a three-stroke lead over Martin and Glen Day.

`"All in all, it was a good, solid round," said Love, who finished at 14-under 202. "And a good score when I needed it."

Love was in danger of missing the cut after opening with a 73. He could have returned home to Georgia to hunt -- deer season and rifle season opened today -- or just hang out with the family.

"Being here in the lead is a lot more fun," he said.

Maybe not for everyone else.

Day, who has earned over $1 million this year without winning a tournament, said he played some of his best golf of the year in the MCI Classic the week after The Masters. He finished second -- seven strokes behind Love.

"Ease up!," he said to Love as they passed in the interview room.

That may be the only chance for everyone else within striking distance.

John Huston was at 206 after a 3-under 69, while Tiger Woods, Jesper Parnevik and Fred Funk were another stroke back. Defending champion David Duval and Stewart Cink were among those at 208.

Love, Martin and Day were among six players who started the third round at seven under, and 43 others were within five shots of the lead, setting the table for a wild day of leaderboard watching.

Duval and Woods, the last two winners of the Disney Classic, gave up on that idea quickly.

"I was nine under and one off the lead, then two holes later I was seven under and tied for 30th," said Duval, six off the lead but still in the hunt for his fifth win of the year.

"If you lost one shot, you moved down 10 spots," added Woods.

The logjam at the the top didn't last long. Love hit a a 7-iron to 5 feet for birdie on the 160-yard third hole, and followed that with a 1-iron to 40 feet for his eagle. He led by as many as four strokes at one point before Day and Martin put together a stretch of birdies on the back nine.

Still, Love knows it's not over yet. Twenty players are within six strokes of the lead.

"I still think I have to do the same thing," Love said. "You have to be aggressive on this course."

That's good advice for those trying to finish in the top 125 on the money list to keep their exempt status, and those trying to get into the top 30 to qualify for next week's lucrative Tour Championship -- $720,000 for the winner, $64,000 for last place.

Cink needs $61,868 to move past Andrew Magee at No. 30 on the money list. Magee missed the cut by one stroke after a bogey on 18 on Friday, and Cink will have to finish no worse than eighth place alone to catch him.

"You just play the best you can and add them up at the end," said Cink, last year's PGA Tour rookie of the year. "If it's good enough I'll be pleased."

DIVOTS: The final round will be played with threesomes starting on both sides of Magnolia to accommodate television -- ESPN will broadcast it from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST. ... Love's 202 set the 54-hole record at Disney when it used only the Palm and Magnolia courses. The previous best with that rotation was 203 by Jack Nicklaus in 1973. ... Larry Nelson, playing in his 23rd Disney Classic, had a 6-under 66 and was among those at 209. ... Tommy Tolles, 124th on the money list, may have secured his card with birdies on two of the last three holes for a 68 that left him in the logjam at 209. ... Mark O'Meara made bogeys on five of the last seven holes and finished with a 75 for 1-over 217. ... No. 8 on the Magnolia course is 614 yards and played into a stiff breeze today. Woods hit driver from the fairway, 290 yards from the front of the green, and came up about 30 yards short.

Third Round Scores

Second Round

First Round