Roundup | Flesch increases lead

VERONA, N.Y. — When the wind picked up, Steve Flesch flashed a smile and tried to make certain nobody would catch him.

Seeking his second victory in two months, Flesch thrived again on a windy day, shooting a 6-under-par 66 Saturday to take a four-shot lead over Carl Pettersson and Charles Warren after three rounds at the inaugural Turning Stone Resort Championship.

Flesch, who led by one after the second round, was at 19-under 197, tying the PGA Tour's lowest 54-hole score in relation to par this year.

Jeff Gove of Seattle suffered through a round of 76 that dropped him from a tie for second place to a tie for 33rd at 8 under.

Gove played the 11 holes from No. 7 through No. 17 in 7 over. He took double bogeys on two par-4 holes, the 13th and 17th.

Kirk Triplett (68), a graduate of Pullman High School, was tied for 17th at 10 under.

Flesch won the Reno-Tahoe Open in Nevada last month by five strokes under blustery conditions.

"Believe me, if you're not hitting well, you don't want to play in winds because it just magnifies your errors," Flesch said. "But if you are hitting it solidly, wind can only help you. It can only separate you from everybody else. Today, I was glad that it blew, and I hope it blows tomorrow."

Pettersson (66) briefly tied for the lead after consecutive birdies on the back nine. But despite a stiff wind that made the back nine at the 7,482-yard Atunyote course more of an adventure than it had been the previous two days, Flesch rallied with four birdies over the final five holes to keep the top spot to himself.

And he should like the forecast for today — a 15 mph wind and 10-degree drop in temperature to the low 70s were predicted.

"I'll be aggressive when I can," said Flesch, who completed his round with a 20-foot downhill birdie putt. "Depends on the wind, truthfully. The conditions are going to dictate how aggressively we're going to be able to play. But Carl and Charles can make a ton of birdies."

They realize they have to.

"You've just got to shoot low," said Warren, who finished second to Flesch in Reno.

Warren (68), who is seeking his first PGA Tour victory, birdied his final hole to tie Pettersson.

But if Flesch keeps up his impressive iron play — he has hit 51 of 54 greens in regulation — he will be difficult to beat.

"My iron game has been good, so I don't expect that to change," Flesch said.

Other tournaments

• Mark Wiebe shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-shot lead and set the 36-hole record in the SAS Championship, a 50-and-older Champions Tour event in Cary, N.C.

Wiebe, in position to become the first player to win in his Champions Tour debut since Mark McNulty in the 2004 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am, had a 13-under 131 total. Dick Mast (65) and Dana Quigley (66) were tied for second.

• D.A. Points shot an 8-under 63 to tie Jim McGovern (68) for the third-round lead in the Albertsons Boise Open, a Nationwide Tour event in Idaho. They were at 17-under 196.

Brock Mackenzie (65), a former UW Huskies standout from Yakima, was tied for 10th at 13 under.

• England's Mark Foster made a double bogey on the last hole for a 3-under 69 and a two-stroke lead over six players in the British Masters in Sutton Coldfield, England. Foster was at 10-under 206.