Short but straight Tom Lehman leads

"Transitions" into final round

Former US Ryder Cup captain and past Open champion Tom Lehman is driving the ball on average "only" 263yd in the Transitions Championship at Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club, Tampa Bay, Florida.
But he is hitting almost all the fairways, getting up and down when he misses the greens and averaging 1.676 putts on each green.
All that adds up to rounds of 68, 69 and 68 for a three-round total of eight-under-par 205 and a one-shot lead going into Sunday's finale from South African Retief Goosen with another South African, Trevor Immelman among the group on 208.
FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE:
Two weeks after his 50th birthday former Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman burst into the lead at the Transitions Championship in Florida on Saturday.
Trying to become the seventh oldest winner in us PGA Tour history, Lehman fired a third-round 68 and will go into the final round on eight under par, one in front of South African Retief Goosen.
Lehman, world number one for one week only back in 1997, is currently ranked 254th and his last victory was nine years ago.
His recent form was nothing to write home about either as he came to the demanding Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead course. Prior to finishing 49th in Mexico at the start of the month he had missed five halfway cuts in a row and his last top-10 finish was in May last year at the Players Championship.
Opening rounds of 68 and 69, however, had left him in joint third place only one behind and as pacesetters Nick Watney and Steve Stricker hit trouble Lehman came storming back from a double bogey at the short fourth.
The ex-Open champion, who took five months off at the end of last season because of elbow tendinitis, birdied the next and after bogeying the eighth had four more birdies in a row from the 12th to come home in 31. He was only a foot away from an ace on the 13th.
Masters champion Trevor Immelman, who defends his only major title in just three weeks' time, had his second successive 70 to be five under and joint third with Jonathan Byrd, Australian Stuart Appleby and Charles Howell.
THIRD ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 213 (3 x 71)
Players from US unless stated
205 Tom Lehman 68 69 68
206 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 69 68 69
208 Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 68 70 70, Jonathan Byrd 67 70 71, Charles Howell III 71 66 71, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 70 67 71
209 Steve Stricker 69 67 73, David Toms 68 73 68, Matt Kuchar 72 68 69, Charlie Wi (Kor) 68 73 68, Joe Durant 73 67 69, Brett Quigley 73 68 68, Rich Beem 71 67 71, Troy Matteson 69 68 72
210 Nick Watney 69 67 74, Joe Ogilvie 71 66 73, Steve Flesch 71 67 72, Heath Slocum 71 69 70
211 Charley Hoffman 74 68 69, Mathew Goggin (Aus) 67 74 70, Woody Austin 69 73 69
212 Jeff Overton 69 70 73, Tim Herron 70 70 72, Jason Dufner 71 71 70, D.A. Points 73 69 70, Jeff Klauk 71 70 71, Kenny Perry 67 74 71, John Huston 70 73 69, Briny Baird 70 71 71, D.J. Trahan 68 72 72, Stephen Ames (Can) 66 74 72
213 Jonathan Kaye 73 68 72, Steve Lowery 70 70 73, Tom Pernice Jnr. 70 72 71, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 69 73 71, John Mallinger 69 73 71, Mark Wilson 68 71 74, Kevin Na 70 72 71, J J Henry 69 68 76, Richard S Johnson (Swe) 69 72 72, Boo Weekley 71 72 70, Ryan Moore 70 72 71
214 Bill Lunde 70 71 73, Eric Axley 71 71 72, Bo Van Pelt 71 72 71, David Mathis 71 72 71
215 Brendon De Jonge 68 75 72, Scott McCarron 69 69 77, Aron Price (Aus) 74 69 72, Kirk Triplett 73 70 72, Billy Mayfair 72 70 73, Kevin Sutherland 69 71 75, Chris Couch 70 73 72, Matt Bettencourt 70 73 72, Steve Elkington (Aus) 69 74 72, Ben Crane 68 74 73, Jim Furyk 65 78 72, Cameron Beckman 69 72 74, Ken Duke 71 70 74
216 Will MacKenzie 70 71 75, Michael Letzig 69 73 74, Bart Bryant 72 70 74, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 72 71 73
217 Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) 69 73 75, Jimmy Walker 72 71 74, Rocco Mediate 72 71 74, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 70 72 75
218 Brian Gay 71 69 78, Jason Bohn 74 68 76, Tommy Armour III 73 69 76
219 Brad Adamonis 71 71 77, Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 71 72 76
220 Spencer Levin 70 73 77
225 Nathan Green (Aus) 68 74 83