Purse: $725,000
Yardage: 7,165
Par: 71
Kyle Thompson 63-65—128
Kevin Chappell 64-64—128
Bob May 67-63—130
Steven Bowditch 63-67—130
David Mathis 67-64—131
A.J. Elgert 67-64—131
Scott Gardiner 64-67—131
James Hahn 69-63—132
Dicky Pride 66-66—132
Ryan Armour 69-63—132
Scott Stallings 68-64—132
Aaron Watkins 65-67—132
James Vargas 66-66—132
Morgan Hoffmann 65-67—132
Ron Whittaker 68-64—132
Jim Herman 66-66—132
Tommy Gainey 67-66—133
Jason Gore 67-66—133
Jon Mills 68-65—133
Brendan Steele 66-67—133
Andrew Svoboda 68-65—133
Alistair Presnell 69-64—133
Justin Smith 67-66—133
Photo Showcase: Cox Classic
Saturday's tee times
* * *
As leader boards go, it doesn't get much better at the Cox Classic than for Saturday's third round.
There's Kyle Thompson and Kevin Chappell, the co-leaders at 14-under-par 128. Thompson has two career wins, Chappell one after he was the NCAA champion at UCLA just two years ago.
There's Bob May, best known for his playoff loss 10 years ago to Tiger Woods at the 2000 PGA Championship. He's tied for third at 12 under with Steven Bowditch.
There's local flavor in A.J. Elgert, the Monday qualifier from Lincoln. After a 64 in Friday's second round at Champions Run, he's tied for fifth with David Mathis and Scott Gardiner.
And still within sight of the leaders, albeit five strokes behind in a large group at 9 under, are this year's only two-time winner, Tommy Gainey, and 2005 Cox champion Jason Gore. They'll be in the same twosome, too, in the round that begins at 7:54 a.m. at Champions Run with the co-leaders the last group at 12:50 p.m.
There is no Golf Channel television coverage this year of the tournament.
Thompson was the first of the co-leaders to play Friday, and he got to 15 under with an eagle on the par-5 17th hole. A three-putt bogey on the 18th left him at 6-under 65, coming off his opening-round 63.
“I had to play some mental games with myself because I know how low everybody shoots here,'' Thompson said. “Just because you shoot 8 under the first day, you can't sit back and play conservative.
“I kept telling myself to keep pushing and pushing. I know it's going to be mid-20s that wins this thing, maybe higher.''
Thompson's round was over when Chappell teed off, seven strokes behind the leader. And the former NCAA champion from UCLA was still seven back after a bogey 4 on the eighth hole.
An eagle on the next hole, with a 3-wood taking a perfect bounce to pin-high on the green, started him to shooting 7 under on the final 10 holes.
An adjustment in where he positioned the ball in his putting, which Chappell said he made while three-putting the eighth, was all it took to get hot.
Chappell led the season money list for three weeks after a tie for second at the BMW Charity Classic. He won earlier in the year at the Fresh Express Classic in California.
In a tour promotion, the caddie for the No. 1 money winner wears a special bib. The caddies for the others in the top 25 also wear numbered bibs.
“I've joked that what the bib should have is a target on the back,'' Chappell said.
Friday's round was played under preferred-lie rules — lift, clean and place through the green — because of a threat of heavy rain from thunderstorms that never materialized.
Contact the writer:
444-1041, stu.pospisil@owh.com
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