Date: September 21, 2008
Author:

Allan makes his move

Marc Turnesa carded a six-under-par 66 to stay atop the leaderboard after the third round of the Viking Classic on Saturday. Turnesa, who has posted a 17-under 199 for the tournament, holds a two-stroke lead over Brian Gay and Will MacKenzie, who are both on 15-under 201 after carding five-under 67s on Saturday. A stunning 65 from Australian Steve Allan has him sitting seven shots off the lead. Nathan Green turned in a 70 to be four strokes further back while Andrew Buckle&aposs early tournament form has deserted him. He shot a 75 to be five-under-par, equal with countryman Gavin Coles. A PGA Tour rookie who is ranked 358th in the world, Turnesa also led after the first two rounds but is in uncharted territory. The 30-year-old has made just 11 out of 23 cuts this year, with his best finish being a tie for 22nd at the Northern Trust Open in February. Turnesa led the Stanford St Jude&aposs Classic after two rounds earlier this summer but faltered down the stretch and finished tied for 37th. After taking his first career 18-hole lead earlier in this tournament, Turnesa kept the pressure on in the second round and then notched seven birdies on Saturday, including four on the back nine. Gay, who was victorious at the Mayakoba Golf Classic earlier this year for his only PGA Tour title, was joined in second place by MacKenzie, who fired nine birdies in the third round. Dicky Pride is alone in fourth on 14 under after a round of 68 with Casey Wittenberg a further shot back after also carding a 68. Third Round of The Viking Classic (Par 72) -17: Marc Turnesa 65 68 66 -15: Will MacKenzie 70 64 67, Brian Gay 66 68 67 -14: Dicky Pride 67 67 68 -13: Casey Wittenberg 68 67 68 -12: Rich Beem 71 68 65, Bill Haas 69 69 66 -11: Woody Austin 69 69 67, Rory Sabbatini 69 69 67, Bo Van Pelt 68 69 68, John Huston 68 69 68, Greg Kraft 68 69 68, Brad Elder 68 68 69, Paul Stankowski 69 65 71 -10: Tim Petrovic 68 72 66, Steve Allan (Australia) 71 68 65, Scott Sterling 68 70 68, David Duval 69 69 68 Also: -6: Nathan Green 67 73 70 -5: Gavin Coles (Australia) 71 69 71, Andrew Buckle (Australia) 67 71 75 -4: Nick Flanagan (Australia) 68 74 70