Sat Oct 11 18:33:30 2008

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Price grabs Senior Players lead

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Timonium, MD (Sports Network) - Nick Price posted a four-under 66 on Saturday to jump into the lead after the third round of the Senior Players Championship, the final major this year on the Champions Tour.

Price, a three-time major winner in his PGA Tour career and World Golf Hall of Famer, completed 54 holes at eight-under 202 and is one clear at the East Course at Baltimore Country Club.

D.A. Weibring birdied two of this last three holes for a four-under 66. He is alone in second place at minus-seven, one shot better than Jeff Sluman, whose six-under 64 on Saturday was the lowest round of the championship, and Gene Jones, who managed a one-under 69.

Price first broke into red figures on Saturday at the par-three second. He rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at that hole, then rattled off back-to-back birdies from the fourth.

Price played solid golf from there, but did not see results. He parred the next four holes on the front side, and fell behind Fred Funk, who got to the top of the leaderboard thanks to consecutive birdies at four and five.

Funk and Jones were tied for the lead at eight-under par on the back nine, but each found some trouble.

Jones three-putted from 10 feet for a bogey at the 12th and dropped a shot at 13 when he drove into the rough. Those two bogeys hurt, but it was nothing compared to Funk's collapse.

He bogeyed 13 when he couldn't get up and down from a bunker and one hole later, Funk missed a seven-footer to save par. At the 15th, Funk tallied his third bogey in a row, and that left the door open for Price.

The Hall of Famer stayed steady with seven pars on his back nine. He was in the lead by one at seven-under until his 12-foot birdie putt at the 17th fell into the side of the cup.

Price was at eight-under, but Weibring closed the gap. He made a 10-foot birdie putt at the 16th and closed with a 23-foot birdie putt at the last. Price had a decent look from almost the same distance as Weibring at 18, but just missed.

Jones birdied 17, but bogeyed 18. That left Price alone atop the leaderboard.

"I'm happy," said Price. "I played really well on the front nine today. I hit the ball absolutely perfect on the front nine. On the back nine, I had a couple of loose holes, but the birdie on 17 was a good one for me."

Price has yet to visit the winner's circle on the Champions Tour since joining the elder circuit last year. He held the overnight lead with one round to go twice earlier in the season, but could not break through.

Now he has a chance to get that elusive first victory on the Champions Tour, and in a major no less. Price is certainly cautious with eight players within four of the lead.

"There's a long way to go," acknowledged Price. "I've been patient. If you are hitting the ball well and can shape it a little bit here, it certainly is to your advantage."

Eduardo Romero, the reigning U.S. Senior Open Champion and winner of the last Champions Tour event, the SAS Championship, posted a three-under 67 on Saturday and is alone in fifth at five-under 205.

Funk limped in with a two-over 72. He fell into a tie for sixth place with Joe Ozaki (67), Tom Jenkins (71) and leading money winner this year, Jay Haas (69). That group is in at four-under 206.

Overnight leader Ben Crenshaw, who hadn't held the 36-hole lead in a tournament since the 1995 Memorial, struggled on Saturday. He shot a four-over 74 and dipped into a tie for 10th with Ronnie Black (66), Bruce Fleisher (67), Mike Goodes (68) and Bernhard Langer (71) at minus-three.

Defending champion Loren Roberts shot a two-over 72 and is part of a group tied for 30th at plus-one.