Campbell gains share of Colonial lead

Chad Campbell matched the course record with a nine-under-par 61, jumping from 43rd to a share of the lead after the third round of The Colonial.

The last players to shoot 61 at the Colonial Country Club were defending champion Kenny Perry and Justin Leonard, another Texas native. Both did it last year.

“Shooting 61 here with all the history and everything about (Ben) Hogan and just the tradition, it does not get much better than that,” said Campbell, a native of Lewisville.

Campbell was the runner-up at last year’s PGA Championship and won the season-ending Tour Championship. He claimed his second career title earlier this year at the Bay Hill Invitational.

Campbell moved into a tie with Brian Gay and Steve Flesch. The trio completed 54 holes at eight-under 202, two shots ahead of Zach Johnson. Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik and Craig Perks are tied for fifth at 205.

Gay, who missed the cut in his last three starts and is just 143rd on the money list, also threatened the course record and led by as many as three shots on the back nine. But he bogeyed numbers 14, 16 and 18 and signed for a 65.

Gay finished out of the top 125 last year for the first time since his 1998 rookie season and needed Qualifying School in the fall to regain his card. His best finish this year is a tie for 14th at the BellSouth Classic.

Flesch, who posted a 67, tied for the lead with a birdie on the par-three 16th.

Campbell began his round with an eagle and two birdies before alternating two more birdies with a pair of bogeys to make the turn at four-under. But he recorded five birdies on the back.

“If you are hitting the shots, if you are getting the ball in play, and you feel good over the shots, it is not that tough,” Campbell said.

“But if you lose confidence, those fairways become a lot smaller and they are harder to hit. A lot of it is just confidence and trusting the wind.”

Second-round co-leaders Leonard and JL Lewis struggled to two-over 72 and 75 respectively.