David Frost cooled way off and Hal Sutton stumbled down the stretch today and the result was a four-way tie for the lead after three rounds of the St. Jude Classic.

Frost, who tied a PGA Tour and St. Jude record by shooting a 16-under-par 126 for a four-stroke lead after two rounds, ballooned to a 3-over-par 74 that left him one shot off the lead.

Sutton, Frost's playing partner, bogeyed three of the final five holes to end up at 69. He's tied atop the leaderboard at 14-under with Tom Lehman, Ted Tryba and Tim Herron.

"I'll have to regroup," said Sutton, who was at 198 for the tournament. "I'm not happy with the way I finished. Any time you're 3-over on the last (five) holes, that's not very pleasant to have to deal with. A couple of those, I hit good shots."

Frost, who had 16 birdies and no bogeys the first two rounds, was the only player in the 77-man field without a birdie on Saturday. He pushed many of his tee shots to the right, but said he would stick with a new swing he adopted this week.

"I hit a lot of good shots. I'm not disappointed," said Frost, who went straight to the practice tee after his round. "I couldn't buy a putt today. I was tentative on the putts."

Kevin Sutherland and Omar Uresti were tied with Frost at 13-under. Kevin Wentworth, whose 63 was the low round for the day, was among four players at 12-under.

Davis Love III shot a 68 and was at 10-under, defending champion Nick Price was 8-under after shooting a 70 and Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal was 7-under after a 70.

Greg Norman continued to have trouble with his putter and withdrew after shooting a 72 for a three-day total of 3-under.

The Tournament Players Club at Southwind played a bit harder Saturday thanks to a breeze that picked up as the day wore on and dried the fairways and soft Bentgrass greens.

"Today, some of the par-5s were with the wind and if you didn't take advantage of those holes, then the course played tougher," Lehman said.

Lehman, who battled flu-like symptoms Friday but said he felt stronger as the third round continued, expects a free-for-all on Sunday.

"I think it's anybody's ball game," he said. "It's not just the four guys tied for the lead. It's the 57 guys (actually 23) within four shots. It's going to take a very aggressive, low-scoring round to win."

Herron, who won the Bay Hill Invitational this year, and Tryba, who shot a 61 in the Nissan Open, had the steadiest rounds among the leaders. Herron fired a 66 and Tryba a 67. Both made just one bogey.

Tryba was one of the few players who said he liked the hot, humid weather. He said the high temperatures have helped loosen his ribs, which he injured lifting cinder blocks at his home about 10 weeks ago.

"It's enabled me to kind of hit the ball hard and back off when I want to back off," he said.

Sutton, who has rejuvenated his career the last two years, said he is confident heading into the final round because he felt he hit good shots even on the holes where he made bogey.

"That's golf," he said. "Sometimes you hit some of the best shots in the world and they don't work. That's why we love this game, isn't it? Or that's why we come back every day, anyway."

The $2.5 million St. Jude is sponsored by FedEx. The winner's share is $450,000.

AP