Todd, Owen share lead after three rounds in Athens

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ATHENS, Ga. -- The stage for Sunday's final round of the Athens Regional Foundation Classic is set up for a possible showdown between a 22-year-old hometown rookie with nothing to lose contrasted against a 36-year-old veteran from England with everything to regain.

Greg Owen is leading the field in greens in regulation this week. (Horner/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

54-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score T1. Greg Owen 206 -10 T1. Brendon Todd 206 -10 T3. Darron Stiles 208 -8 T3. Bubba Dickerson 208 -8 T5. Jarrod Lyle 209 -7 T5. Geoffrey Sisk 209 -7 T5. Joe Daley 209 -7 T5. Michael Putnam 209 -7 T9. Tom Johnson 210 -6 T9. Henrik Bjornstad 210 -6

Brendon Todd and Greg Owen share the 54-hole lead at 10-under 216, two shots better than Darron Stiles and Bubba Dickerson. Leading money-winner Jarrod Lyle is joined at 7 under par by Geoffrey Sisk, Joe Daley and Michael Putnam.

Tom Johson and Henrik Bjornstad round out the top 10 and are four shots back heading into the final 18 holes at Jennings Mill Country Club.

"These young kids are hungry for something they've never had," said Own after a 3-under 69. "I'm desperate just to get back to where I was."

Todd, a four-time All-America with the Georgia Bulldogs, is in his rookie season on Tour and needed a sponsor's exemption to get into the field. He began the week just hoping to make the cut. He's done better than that, grabbing the second-round lead by one and then holding his position with a 2-under 70.

"I've already got the hard part out of the way. I already made the cut," said Todd, who has conditional status on Tour this year but failed to get into any of the first six events. "The goal was to make a check so I could get into more tournaments. One goal down, now a new one for the weekend. This is just icing on the cake for me."

Todd rolled in a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 second hole to reach double figures and join Owen, who closed the one-stroke deficit with a birdie-eagle start of his own. The pair each played even par the rest of the way, each countering three bogeys with three birdies.

"This is 10 times better than any of the events I've played in before," said Todd, who hasn't ventured too far off the mini-tours since finishing up his degree last spring. "I can't really compare it because I haven't played in front of any big crowds. It's nice to see some familiar faces in the crowd and get the big cheers."

Owen is hoping to hear the cheers again, having spent four years on the European Tour before joining the PGA TOUR for three seasons starting in 2005. After making only 11 cuts in 29 starts last year, Owen fell to No. 157 on the money list and landed on the Nationwide Tour for the first time.

"I know I can play with the big guys. I still feel I'm a quality player," said Owen. "It's been a while but it's still going to mean a lot to me. I know I have the experience and I know these guys are doing it for the first time."

The last time Owen was in a similar position came at the 2006 Bay Hill Invitational, where he held a one-stroke lead with two holes to play. The English-born Florida resident suffered a heartbreaking double bogey on the penultimate hole, missing two putts inside of three feet. He then lipped out a par putt on the final hole of regulation that could have forced a playoff with champion Rod Pampling.

"Yes, it lingers," Owen admitted. "It matters. It hurts a lot. I outplayed the whole field that day until that silly mistake on 17. The thing is, if I wasn't in a position to win nobody would have cared if I did that on the back nine."

Most of the attention will be on the final pairing to see if youth or experience wins out. Todd, with nerves of steel, leads the field in putting this week.

Owen, calling on personal history, is No. 1 in greens in regulation.

Lurking behind them are Dickerson, former U.S. Amateur champion seeking his first professional win and Stiles, currently No. 3 on the Tour's money list thanks to a rain-shortened "unofficial" win at the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship.

Third-Round News & Notes: Sunday's pairings will return to twosomes off the first tee. The first tee time is at 8:15 a.m. ... Casey Wittenberg, the only player to make the cut in all seven Nationwide Tour events this year, shot a 2-under-par 70 and stands at 5-under 211. Wittenberg is tied for 11th heading into the final round. ... Saturday's third-round scoring average was 71.810.