Morse hangs onto lead at Champions Tour q-school

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CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- Despite a 2-over-par 74, John Morse (Marshall, Mich. holds a one-stroke lead over Robert Thompson (Huntsville, Texas) after three rounds of the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament at TPC Eagle Trace. Morse has a 54-hole total of 6-under-par 210.

Morse

Morse started the day by increasing his lead to as many as five strokes when he reached 9-under-par on the front nine.

However, he watched that lead evaporate when he made bogeys at Nos. 11 and 16 and a double bogey at No. 14. After falling back into a tie for the lead at 5-under-par with Thompson after No. 16, he regained the lead with a birdie on the par-3, 17th hole.

Like Morse, Thompson is a veteran of the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour. He was co-medalist at the 1981 PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament in Texas and made 161 appearances on the PGA TOUR and 75 more on the Nationwide Tour. He rebounded from a second-round 73 with a 3-under-par 69 in Thursday's round and stands at 5-under-par 211 after three rounds.

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"I put myself back in a good position and I just have to play well tomorrow," Thompson said. "I played pretty well the first round, but didn't finish well yesterday when I bogeyed two of the last three holes. I'm pleased where I am now."

Friday's final round should be interesting as the players battle for the five fully-exempt spots on the 2009 Champions Tour. Champions Tour veteran Tom McKnight (Bluffton, S.C.) posted the day's low round, a 7-under-par 65, and jumped from a T21 to a T3 where he is tied with former PGA TOUR winner Jay Don Blake (St. George, Utah) at 4-under-par 212. Ronnie Black (Tucson, Ariz.), Tim Conley (Stow, Ohio), James Mason (Dillard, Ga.) and David Ogrin (New Braunfels, Texas) are all tied for fifth place at 3-under-par 213.

Here is where some other notables stand heading into the final round: Russ Cochran (T25), Ron Streck (T29), Massy Kuramoto (T16), Curt Byrum (T12), Mike Donald (T16), Mike Hulbert (T25), Dave Rummells (T29), Mark James (T25), Gary Hallberg (T63); Jerry Courville (T40), John Harris (T34), Clarence Rose (T40) and Donnie Hammond (T47).

There is no cut in the 72-hole qualifier. At the conclusion of play on Friday, the top-5 finishers earn fully-exempt status for the 2009 season, while the next seven players will be conditionally exempt.

In addition, the top 30 finishers and ties will be eligible to compete for spots in open qualifiers at all co-sponsored events on the Champions Tour in 2009.