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They're essentially down to a two-horse race.
Lee Williamson of Crawfordsville, Ind. sits at nine-under 204 and holds a one-stroke lead over Daniel DeLeon of Mexico heading into the final round of the MTS Classic at Pine Ridge Golf Club.
Williamson fired a 4-under 67 yesterday, battling the wind and humid conditions throughout the day.
"When you're hitting it solid the wind can help you because it blocks out one side of the hole and makes some shots nearly impossible," said Williamson, who won the Indiana Open in 2002 and 2004. "I've always been a pretty good wind player and I've made up ground in the wind a lot of times. When I saw it was going to be windy, I was kind of glad because playing on Saturday with the lead with perfect conditions can be tough because guys run right by you."
WELCOMES DELEON'S CHALLENGE
On the back nine, DeLeon briefly held a two-shot advantage over Williamson, but when the scorecards were signed the roles were reversed and Williamson had a one-shot cushion. Williamson welcomes the challenge of trying to hold off the field to win his first title on the Canadian Tour.
"It's not necessarily just match play between me and Daniel," said Williamson, who drained a 30-footer for birdie on 15 and finished with five birdies, 13 pars and only one bogey.
DeLeon, who three-putted the third and eighth holes, felt his interesting scorecard -- one eagle, six birdies, eight pars and three bogeys -- had little to do with the elements.
"I just over-concentrated on some shots," said DeLeon.
Shortly after the round, DeLeon was thinking about getting a pasta dinner in his stomach and having a good night's sleep.
"What I'll do is very simple, I'll play like it's a round with my buddies," said DeLeon, when asked about being in the final group. "I'll put no pressure on (myself). I have nothing to lose and everything to (gain). I'll play exactly the same way I've been playing this week. I've been hitting really solid shots and my putter has been co-operating."
Lurking in the weeds is Order of Merit money leader Jaime Gomez of McAllen, Texas, who shot 68 yesterday and sits alone in third place at 3-under 210. Marcus Jones of Graham, Texas is fourth at 211.
"I didn't have a number in mind, I was trying to fight for every shot out there," said Gomez, who remains optimistic about his chances of taking a run at his second victory of the year. "It all depends on how the guys in front kind of handle the situation. It's tough to win golf tournaments."
The low round of the day was a 5-under 66 by Luke Hickmott of Australia, who recorded back-to-back eagles on the par-5 12th hole and the par-4 13th.
Hickmott finished 36 holes on the cut line (four-over), but propelled himself into a five-way tie for fifth with Brien Davis of Las Vegas, Ryan Ellis of Draper, Utah, Mike Grob of Billings, Mont. and Dustin Risdon of Calgary.
Rob McMillan of Pine Ridge was 2-under 69 yesterday and is in a five-way tie for 10th spot at even-par 213.
Because of the threat of some stormy weather this afternoon, the Canadian Tour has decided to use split tees and play in threesomes for the final round, which begins at 8:50 a.m. with players using both the first and 10th tees. The leaders will tee off on No. 1 at 10:30 a.m.
CHIP SHOTS: The average score yesterday was 73.29. There were 203 birdies, 15 eagles and 13 others (higher than a bogey). A total of 15 players were under par, two were even and 48 of the 65 shot higher than the par-71. Free shuttle service will be available to Pine Ridge today from Club Regent between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Williamson leads by a stroke