Kelly Gibson carded a one-under-par 71 on Saturday and has a two-shot lead at
12-under par heading to the final round of the Nike Oregon Classic. Craig Perks
vaulted into contention with a five-under 67 on Saturday and is alone in second
place at 10-under.
Gibson had a chance to make it a runaway, as he held as much as a six-shot lead
midway through the round. He bogeyed the par-five ninth, then played the back
nine in just one-under par.
"I
had some chances, but I didn't score very well," said Gibson, who is trying to
become the first wire-to-wire winner on the Nike Tour this year. "I really didn't
hurt myself, but as it turns out, it's still anybody's ballgame."
The reason for that is Perks, who strung together six birdies in seven holes,
starting at the ninth.
"I
wouldn't say I hit the ball any more solid on the back than the front," said Perks.
"It turned out I had the right club in my hand and I wound up hitting a lot of
shots close."
Gibson,
who finished seventh at last week's Boise Open, never won in seven years on the
PGA Tour and is trying to regain his PGA privileges for next year. He is 23rd
on the money list and the top-15 qualify for next year's PGA Tour.
Jim Johnson is four shots back at minus-eight, while Glen Hnatiuk, who won the
Tri-Cities Open two weeks ago, is five off the pace at seven-under.
