Lee extends lead to three

Patrick Lee continued his hot play Saturday and increased his lead to three strokes at the $225,000 Nike Inland Empire Open.

Lee held onto his lead at Moreno Valley Ranch Golf Club by shooting a 6-under-par 66. Dick Mast (65) is second at 16-under-par, followed by Brad Elder (67), who is four shots behind the leader. Matt Peterson (65), Todd Demsey (67) and Joel Edwards (68) all share fourth place at 14-under-par.

Lee's score of 197 through the first three rounds ties the 54-hole course record set in 1994 by Skip Kendall, who went on to win the 1994 NIKE Inland Empire Open.

Lee has gone 47 holes since his only bogey on the seventh hole during Thursday's first round. He began Saturday's round with six birdies in the first 10 holes, but settled for par the rest of the afternoon.

"You're not going to keep hitting shots right on top," said Lee. "I saved myself and made putts when I needed to for par. Hopefully I went through my stretch already where I had to struggle."

Lee's biggest shot of the day, which may prove to be the difference at the end of the tournament, was a 60-foot birdie putt on No. 10.

"I really felt like I have been focused this week," said Lee, who has never entered a final round with such a cushion. "I'm in a position where I have to play well. I'm going to go out and try to hit golf shots tomorrow.

"I'm going to play aggressive. There's no reason to change anything. I can't play conservative tomorrow because somebody at 14 under might shoot 6 to 8 under. It's out there."