RUSSELL KNOX THREE PUTTS 18th, JT 2ND ON NATIONWIDE TOUR

Omaha, Nebraska -- Texan J.J. Killeen fired an 8-under par 63 Saturday at the Cox Classic in Omaha and moved closer to winning for the second week in a row. Killeen, who earned his first career Nationwide Tour title at last week's Utah Championship, is 20-under and four strokes in front the closest four players.
Former U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee (66), Monday qualifier Mike Lavery (67), Scotland's Russell Knox (68) and veteran Ken Duke (68) share second place at 16-under heading into Sunday's finale at Champions Run.
England's Gary Christian (64) and Troy Kelly (62) are tied for sixth place, five back of the leader.
Lee birdied the 440-yard 18th hole to close out a bogey-free round and get to 16-under. But with a dozen players still on the course, it appeared that he would wind up in fourth or fifth place. Lavery, Knox and Duke all wound up making bogeys at No. 18 to fall into a second-place tie and give Killeen some extra breathing room. The miscue by Lavery was his only bogey of the day.
"Anybody can shoot a low score out here," Killeen said. "Anything can happen ... I'm still going to put the petal to the medal tomorrow."
Killeen, No. 5 on the money list, set a torrid pace early with seven birdies in his first 11 holes.
"I'm not going to say I left a few out there but I think I could have birdied every hole on the front nine," he said. "I hit it pretty close all day long."
Killeen hit 16 greens despite missing half the fairways but stayed out of trouble for the most part. He is in good position to become the first player to win in back-to-back weeks since Jason Gore did it six years ago.
"He's playing great and he will be pretty hard to beat," Knox said, who is looking for his second win in four weeks. "He won't be afraid to go deep tomorrow. It's probably going to be reasonably difficult to catch him and we probably need him not to play too well."
Knox three-putted the final green, which is one of the rare mistakes the 25-year old Jacksonville, Fla., transplant from Inverness, Scotland has made. He has missed only six fairways in 54 holes and only three greens in regulation.
Third-Round Notes --
• J.J. Killeen has been on a blistering pace since missing the cut at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in May. Since then, he has made eight straight cuts and three top-5 finishes. In that stretch he also has a stroke average of 68.225 for his last 31 rounds, 27 of which have been below par.
• J.J. Killeen has now posted 15 consecutive rounds under par and his scoring average for that stretch is 67.133.
• J.J. Killeen's 193 total is one off the tournament record for the lowest 54-hole score. Chris Smith (1997) and David Branshaw (2008) both registered 21-under 192 scores. Smith went on to win the tournament and Branshaw lost a playoff to Ryan Hietala.
• J.J. Killeen's 4-stroke lead is the second-largest in tournament history. Chris Smith held a five-shot advantage in 1997 and went to win by a then-Tour record 11 strokes.
• J.J. Killeen's 193 score is the second-lowest 54-hole total on the Nationwide Tour this year. Steve Wheatcroft posted a 191 total (22-under) during the first three rounds of the Melwood Prince George's County Open, which he went on to win by a Tour-record 12 strokes.
• Gary Christian from England added a 7-under 64 today to the 9-under 62 he posted in round two. His 126 total is a career-low for consecuvite rounds. His previous career best, 36-hole score was 127 (13-under par) in Rounds 3 and 4 at the 2009 Northeast Pennsylvania Classic, which he won when he defeated Mathias Gronberg in a nine-hole playoff. Christian stands at 15-under, and is tied for sixth heading into the final round.
• Gary Christian's 126 total (62-64) in Rounds 2 and 3 matches the second-lowest on Tour this year. Steve Wheatcroft had a 125 total (60-65) in the second and third rounds of the Melwood Prince George's County Open.
• Gary Christian will celebrate his 40th birthday on Sunday.
• J.J. Killeen is trying to become the 11th player in Tour history to register wins in back-to-back starts. The last to do it was Nick Flanagan, who won the 2007 Henrico County Open and the BMW Charity Pro-Am.
• J.J. Killeen is trying to become the sixth player in Tour history to register wins in consecutive weeks. The last to do it was Jason Gore at the 2005 National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic and the Scholarship America Showdown.
• There were five eagles at No. 9, a 315-yard par 4. Gary Christian's drive stopped about two feet from the hole to set up his eagle. Matt Weibring also hit driver and had an eagle putt of just 18 inches. Others to make eagle: Martin Flores, Nicholas Thompson and Brendon Todd
• Danny Lee is a perfect 9-for-9 in cuts made this year. The former U.S. Amateur champion is No. 19 on the money list thanks for four top-10 finishes, including a tied for ninth at last week's Utah Championship. Lee has only one bogey this week, which came on his third hole on Thursday -- giving him a current bogey-free streak of 51 holes.
• Andrew Buckle shot a 4-over 75 today but had wildly contrasting nines. Starting on the back, Buckle went out in 8-over 44, including a quadruple-bogey 8 at No. 14. He rebounded with a 4-under 31 on the front side to finish the round.