Third round: Six-shot lead has McLachlin smiling

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Parker McLachlin looks to be headed for his first PGA TOUR win with a six-shot lead going into Sunday.

RENO, Nevada (AP) -- Parker McLachlin made a 9-foot eagle putt as part of a 6-under 66 Saturday to set a course record for 54 holes and take a six-stroke lead into the final round of the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.

RELATED LINKS

Photos: Saturday action
Third-round notebook
Inside the field
Inside the course
Leaderboard: Saturday
McLachlin's scorecard
Final-round tee times

VIDEO

PGA TOUR Today recap
Davis tries to close gap
McLachlin leads third round
Third-round highlights

McLachlin, a second-year player on the PGA TOUR who opened with a 68 and tied the course record Friday with a 62, added five birdies and a bogey for a record three-round total of 20-under 196 at the 7,472-yard Montreux Golf & Country Club.

"It's something to be proud of, but it's not a 54-hole tournament. That's not what I'm here for," said McLachlin, who has won on the Hooters Tour, Tight Lies Tour, Gateway Tour and Spanos Tour, but not the PGA TOUR.

Brian Davis, who eagled the 616-yard ninth when he drove the ball 342 yards then hit his second shot 266 yards to within 6 feet of the pin, carded a 68 on his 34th birthday to move into second place at 14-under 202.

John Rollins made a 6-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fourth en route to a 70 that put him in third place at 10-under 206 -- 10 strokes off the lead. Andrew Buckle (68) and John Merrick (73) were another stroke back at 207.

Davis, who has won twice on the European Tour, said even the closest challengers face an uphill battle.

"It's weird because most weeks on TOUR there's probably 20 guys or 10 guys who can win on the last day," Davis said. "But obviously if Parker is 20 under, John Rollins has to shoot 10 under if Parker is even par. So it does put a stretch on everyone, including me.

"But Parker's never won before so you never know, he might shoot a couple over. And around this golf course anything can happen. You can hit good shots and get a bad bounce and be really in trouble."

Last year on the Nationwide Tour, McLachlin led the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic by seven strokes entering the final round, but shot a 77 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth.

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TRIVIA QUESTION

Can you answer this? Hawaii native and Citi Mentor Program participant Parker McLachlin is running away with the lead in Reno at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. He followed up his spectacular second-round 62 (which was a career best for the 29-year-old) with a 6-under 66 on Saturday. What was his previous career-best round and where did he shoot it? See answer at bottom of page

Saturday's Best

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5, 616-yard 9th was the easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.507. EAGLES: 4 BIRDIES: 33 PARS: 29 BOGEYS: 4 OTHERS: 1 The par-3, 163-yard 16th was the toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 3.423. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 6 PARS: 40 BOGEYS: 14 OTHERS: 11

SHOT OF THE DAY ROUND OF THE DAY Brian Davis, who trails Parker McLachlin by six shots, gets top honors in the third round. He sunk a long putt on No. 8 for birdie on his way to solo second. Watch his shot. It was almost McLachlin again, but Chip Sullivan beat him to it by one shot. Sullivan carded a 7-under 65, jumping over 50 spots up the leaderboard. See his scorecard

NOTICEABLE TRENDS IN THE LEGENDS EVENT
The third-round leader/co-leader at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open has won five of nine times -- including the last three champions (Vaughn Taylor in 2005, Will MacKenzie in 2006 and Steve Flesch in 2007).

Reavie

The third-round leader has gone on to win 17 of 32 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR in 2008, including most recently Chez Reavie at the RBC Canadian Open.

Large 54-hole leads aren't uncommon at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. Vaughn Taylor (six strokes in 2005) and Steve Flesch (five strokes in 2007) held the largest third-round leads in tournament history, followed closely by Notah Begay III's four-shot cushion in 1999. In addition, Will MacKenzie shared the 54-hole lead with Bob Estes (by four strokes over their nearest competitors) before claiming victory in 2006, while Tim Herron and Craig Barlow were tied at the top in 2003 (by four shots over their nearest challengers) before a final-round 63 propelled Kirk Triplett to a come-from-behind win.

The largest 54-hole lead this season is held by Tiger Woods, who led by eight at the Buick Invitational entering the final round. Parker McLachlin now owns the second-largest lead with his six-stroke cushion going into Sunday's final round. Brian Gay is next on the list, having held a five-stroke lead through 54 holes at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

THIS IS EAGLE COUNTRY, ISN'T IT?
Jonathan Byrd had two eagles Saturday, at the fourth and the 11th holes. Four other players have had two eagles this week: Neal Lancaster, Kevin Streelman, Omar Uresti and Charles Warren.

Lancaster

Both of Neal Lancaster's eagles came at No. 4 this week. He also eagled that hole in 1999 and 2003. In the history of the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, Steve Flesch, Harrison Frazar and Bill Glasson lead the way with five eagles each.

Parker McLachlin picked up his first eagle of the tournament when he made a 2 at the par-4 fifth hole. It was the eighth eagle at that hole in tournament history and the first since 2006. McLachlin's tee shot on the 344-yard hole landed 9 feet, five inches from the cup, and he made the putt.

Those eagles come in handy when you're trying to go low, and two players have shot their first three rounds in the 60s this week. They are Parker McLachlin (68-62-66) and Brian Davis (67-67-68). Last year, no players had four sub-70 rounds.

THINGS TO WATCH ON SUNDAY
1. Parker McLachlin. How could you not want to watch the overnight leader? It would be McLachlin's first win, and he's yet another member of the under-30 set. It should be a great day for him if he can keep his game together.

2. Brian Davis. This Englishman has had a tough year, but his last few starts have shown he's on the up, especially with a tie for 14th at the RBC Canadian Open. Maybe knowing his fellow countryman Lee Westwood is keeping things hot for the Brits at the World Golf Championships event will help feed Davis' fire.

3. Chip Sullivan. This guy shot 7 under on moving day to make a big climb up the leaderboard andput himself into contention on Sunday. Hopefully he hasn't run out of fuel.

TRIVIA ANSWER

Parker McLachlin's career-best, bogey-free 62 in the second round was quite the improvement on his previous lowest round. The UCLA grad shot a 65 in his third round at the 2008 Sony Open -- a round that included an eagle on the 18th hole. McLachlin ended up tying for 10th at his season opener, his second best finish of the year so far; his best was a tie for fifth at the AT&T Classic.