Coasting along with a lead as large as five strokes, Funk barely held on down the stretch today at TPC at Avenel and shot a 71 to be at 12-under-par 201 after three rounds, just one stroke ahead of Appleby.

A lead that once was as large as five strokes was down to the barest of margins going into the final round.

"I had a chance to separate myself a little bit there when I got to 14-under,'' said Funk, who made two bogeys over the final five holes. "Now it's going to be a shootout.''

Funk's even-par round after being 2-under for the day through 11 holes also let a lot of other people back into the tournament.

Chris DiMarco made a bogey on the last hole at was at 203.

Tommy Tolles, the sweet swinger whose game has suddenly gone sour this year, was three strokes back at 204. Clark Dennis made bogeys on two of the last three holes and was at 205, along with Scott Hoch and Brad Fabel.

Starting the day with a three-stroke lead over Craig Parry, Appleby and DiMarco, Funk was just trying to make pars, avoid mistakes and challenge the field to come after him on a day when a fickle wind made the course play with much more difficulty.

The strategy worked for most of the day. Funk held his ground -- making birdies on Nos. 3 and 11 -- and no one made a major move, except for Tolles, who shot a 66, and Hoch, who had a 68.

Funk managed to avoid mistakes until No. 14, the relatively easy 301-yard par-4. He drove into the right rough and played a good shot to the green but could get no spin on it out of the high grass and it rolled into the back fringe.

From there he chipped poorly, leaving it 10 feet from the hole, and missed the par-saving putt for his first bogey of the day.

At that time his lead over Appleby, who was playing in the group in front of Funk and followed an opening bogey with nine consecutive pars before making birdies on Nos. 11 and 14, was back to three strokes.

Appleby got it to two strokes with an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 17, just moments after DiMarco, his playing partner, rolled in a 9-footer to also get to 11-under.

DiMarco, who slipped to five back with a bogey on No. 5, closed strong with birdies on Nos. 13, 16 and 17 before making a bogey on No. 18.

Funk, meanwhile, barely curled in a 4-footer to save par on No. 16 and missed a 5-footer for par on No. 17.

"I started second-guessing myself on the back nine with the wind,'' Funk said.

The 41-year-old Funk, playing just days after laser eye surgery to improve his vision, has led after each round, following an opening 64 with a 66.

Chasing him is one of the talented under-30 crowd on the PGA Tour.

Appleby, a 27-year-old Australian who won over $1 million last year, displayed remarkable poise in his round on a blustery afternoon.

"In today's weather you more save your round than create your round,'' he said. "I think it's going to to be better for me if it's like this tomorrow.''

Also in the hunt is another of the young talents on tour. Tolles, 31, has yet to win on the PGA Tour but has appeared on the verge of a breakthrough for the last two years, saving his best play for the tournaments with the best fields.

In 1996, he finished second in The Players Championship and third in the PGA Championship. Last year, he was third in The Masters, fourth in the Memorial, fifth in the U.S. Open, seventh in The Players Championship and 13th in the PGA Championship.

But Tolles has not done much against any kind of competition this year.

"I've got these little demons running through my head,'' he said.

Tolles had missed the cut in his last five tournaments and has not qualified for weekend play in eight of his 13 events prior to the Kemper Open. His best finish this year was ninth at the Tucson Chrysler Classic.

Divots: Michael Bradley, who won the Doral-Ryder Open in March, withdrew with a sore back. He was 10 strokes back at 140. ... After 21 eagles and three holes-in-one on Friday, there was only one eagle in the third round. ... Defending champion Justin Leonard, whose emergence as one of the world's top players began here last year, started the day five strokes behind Funk but shot a 76 to fall 10 strokes behind at 211 going to the final round.

Third Round Scores

Second Round

Woods Withdraws