Johnson takes lead as Gainey continues to impress at Cliffs  PGA TOUR Staff TRAVELERS REST, S.C. -- Tommy Gainey's improbable run at the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs continued on Saturday, but Richard Johnson emerged with the outright lead with just 18 holes remaining.  Richard Johnson has a one-shot lead heading into Sunday. (WireImage)
Johnson, who has been working through some swing changes over the past seven months, posted a 4-under 68 at the Cliffs Valley Course to move to 11-under-par 203, one shot ahead of Gainey. "I played solid today," said Johnson, who hit 10 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation. "I started changing my swing at the end of last year and it's starting to come around. It is a work in progress ... but I'm comfortable enough to play with the changes now." The former Augusta State University All-American posted six birdies on Saturday -- offset only by bogeys on Nos. 7 and 15. He'll hope to play the closing holes on Sunday as well as he did during the final round, as he finished both nines with birdies on Nos. 8, 9, 17 and 18. "I played good the first two days at the tough courses," said Johnson. "So I had to concentrate out here because you start thinking you have a free ride. Tomorrow will be fun. Anything can happen. Someone could go out and shoot 63 and be done, or I could go out and shoot 63 and be done." Johnson will enter the final round seeking his third career Nationwide Tour victory, to go along with wins at the 1999 Florida Classic and the 2000 Monterey Peninsula Classic. Should he prevail, he'll win at one of his favorite events on Tour -- and receive a nice perk to go along with the $117,000 first-place check. "This tournament is one of my favorites," said Johnson, a 35-year-old native of Cardiff, Wales. "When I first saw the advertisement about the car (a brand new BMW X5 to be given to the winner) I thought, 'That's cool.' Now I have a chance to win it. This is a fun tournament to play ... and a $60,000 car to play for is nice, too." Gainey, who entered the day tied with Jason Allred, didn't have his best but still managed to record a respectable 2-under 69 at Keowee Vineyards. Allred struggled to a 3-over 74 at the Cliffs at Walnut Cove and fell six shots off the pace. "Today was not one of my better ball-striking rounds," said Gainey, who hit nine of 13 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation. "I made mistakes and chose the wrong clubs sometimes. So to be 2-under today with the way I played ... is good." Gainey's story is well-known, and a victory on Sunday would be a nice lead-in to Tuesday night's final episode of Big Break VII: Reunion to be televised on the GOLF CHANNEL. "This is a very good feeling," said Gainey, making his first Nationwide Tour appearance. "I've finally got a chance to play and I'm trying to take advantage of it. I'm focused on what I need to do and that's win this tournament. I'm playing to win." David Mathis began the day outside of the cut line, but posted the round of the week with a bogey-free 10-under 62 at the Cliffs Valley to move within two shots of the lead. He is joined in a tie for third place by David Hearn (68/KV) and Peter Tomasulo (69/WC). Third Round News & Notes: The cut came at 1-under-par 213 with 60 players advancing to the weekend ... Todd Demsey, making his ninth start on Tour this season, finished the first three days at 1-over 215 and missed his first cut of the year ... Martin Laird now holds the longest cuts made streak on Tour with eight consecutive ... Highlighting the list of the 14 pro-am/pro-celebrity teams to make the cut will be the team of Roger Tambellini/Kevin Costner, Jimmy Walker/George Rogers and Darren Angel/Janet Jones-Gretzky ... Robin Freeman became the first player this week to record two eagles in a round, doing so at Nos. 9 and 13 at Cliffs Valley ... The third-round leader has gone on to win just seven of 11 72-hole events at the BMW Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs, including most recently Ryuji Imada in 2004. This season the third-round leader has won four of nine times (Scott Sterling, Skip Kendall, Omar Uresti, Martin Laird) ... There were 10 bogey-free rounds on Saturday, bringing the total for the week to 18 -- David Mathis (62/CV), Marc Turnesa (67/CV), David McKenzie (69/CV), Pat Sheehan (66/CV), Tjaart van der Walt (67/CV), Jay Williamson (66/KV), Richard Swift (67/KV), David Sanchez (70/CV), David Ogrin (69/KV) and Esteban Toledo (68/KV) ... Third-round scoring averages: Cliffs Valley (70.018), Keowee Vineyards (70.661) and Walnut Cove (73.464) ... Dave Rummells withdrew during the third round with back spasms. |
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