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England's Brian Davis and American Bryce Molder shared the lead Saturday after three rounds of the Colonial and were poised to duel for a first US PGA Tour title.
Davis, who earned the most recent of his two European tour titles in 2004, carded his second straight 65 without a bogey to join overnight leader Molder - who shot 67 - atop the leaderboard on 16-under 194.
Davis came close to earning a first US title last month at Hilton Head, where he got into a playoff with Jim Furyk but called a two-stroke penalty on himself on the extra hole when he hit a dead reed on his backswing.
He had missed the cut his last three tournaments.
"What happened during the playoff threw me off balance a little bit," Davis admitted. "I lost my focus. ... Missing three cuts in a row, I wasn't exactly happy coming in.
"I've had to adjust my thinking a little bit. Not everybody can play well every week. You have to take the rough with the smooth some times."
Another hot, windless day at Colonial Country Club made for more low scores. With a forecast for similar weather on Sunday, Kenny Perry's tournament record of 19-under, set in 2003 and 2005 - appears to be in jeopardy.
"I don't know if Fort Worth has seen four calmer days in a row," said Molder, who said he thinks the winning total will be at least 20-under.
Seventeen players were at 11-under or better going into the final round.
Zach Johnson was one shot off the lead after a 64. Ben Crane (64) joined first-round co-leaders Jeff Overton (66) and Jason Bohn (68) in a tie for fourth on 14-under.
South Korean KJ Choi was making the most of the superb scoring conditions, but a sparkling round was undone by a quadruple-bogey eight at the final hole.
Choi arrived at the 18th eight-under for the day courtesy of an eagle at the sixth along with seven birdies and one bogey.
But at 18, Choi drove into the left rough and his second shot was short of the fairway.
Choi's third shot was in the water, and after a drop he hit his fifth shot over the green.
His sixth was through the green, leaving him to chip back to eight feet, which he made.
"Tomorrow is a new round," said Choi, who was 10-under through three rounds. "I love this course, the way it plays. Every time I set foot out here, I feel comfortable." Despite his struggles at 18, Choi said his earlier run was more indicative of the state of his game.
"My tee shots, my irons were all going great," Choi said. "But going into that hole, I knew it was a tough one. A few years ago when I had a triple (bogey), I hit it to the right so I was trying to hit it to the left a little bit, but I drew it a little too much, too far left, so it was just bad luck there." At about the time Choi was hacking up the 18th, Molder was draining a 34-foot putt at the par-three eighth to move to 15-under.
It was his second straight birdie, to offset a double-bogey at the fifth.
Molder had shot a career-best 62 on Friday and set another personal record on Saturday with nine straight one-putts.
He made putts ranging from four to 34 feet from holes two-11, a span that included five birdies as well as the double-bogey.
At 18, however, Molder's 10-footer for birdie slid past the cup.
Davis hasn't had a bogey since the ninth hole on Thursday, and kept that streak intact with a couple of good saves.
At the par-five 11th he made a 16-footer for par after finding a fairway bunker.
Davis, who earned the most recent of his two European tour titles in 2004, carded his second straight 65 without a bogey to join overnight leader Molder - who shot 67 - atop the leaderboard on 16-under 194.
Davis came close to earning a first US title last month at Hilton Head, where he got into a playoff with Jim Furyk but called a two-stroke penalty on himself on the extra hole when he hit a dead reed on his backswing.
He had missed the cut his last three tournaments.
"What happened during the playoff threw me off balance a little bit," Davis admitted. "I lost my focus. ... Missing three cuts in a row, I wasn't exactly happy coming in.
"I've had to adjust my thinking a little bit. Not everybody can play well every week. You have to take the rough with the smooth some times."
Another hot, windless day at Colonial Country Club made for more low scores. With a forecast for similar weather on Sunday, Kenny Perry's tournament record of 19-under, set in 2003 and 2005 - appears to be in jeopardy.
"I don't know if Fort Worth has seen four calmer days in a row," said Molder, who said he thinks the winning total will be at least 20-under.
Seventeen players were at 11-under or better going into the final round.
Zach Johnson was one shot off the lead after a 64. Ben Crane (64) joined first-round co-leaders Jeff Overton (66) and Jason Bohn (68) in a tie for fourth on 14-under.
South Korean KJ Choi was making the most of the superb scoring conditions, but a sparkling round was undone by a quadruple-bogey eight at the final hole.
Choi arrived at the 18th eight-under for the day courtesy of an eagle at the sixth along with seven birdies and one bogey.
But at 18, Choi drove into the left rough and his second shot was short of the fairway.
Choi's third shot was in the water, and after a drop he hit his fifth shot over the green.
His sixth was through the green, leaving him to chip back to eight feet, which he made.
"Tomorrow is a new round," said Choi, who was 10-under through three rounds. "I love this course, the way it plays. Every time I set foot out here, I feel comfortable." Despite his struggles at 18, Choi said his earlier run was more indicative of the state of his game.
"My tee shots, my irons were all going great," Choi said. "But going into that hole, I knew it was a tough one. A few years ago when I had a triple (bogey), I hit it to the right so I was trying to hit it to the left a little bit, but I drew it a little too much, too far left, so it was just bad luck there." At about the time Choi was hacking up the 18th, Molder was draining a 34-foot putt at the par-three eighth to move to 15-under.
It was his second straight birdie, to offset a double-bogey at the fifth.
Molder had shot a career-best 62 on Friday and set another personal record on Saturday with nine straight one-putts.
He made putts ranging from four to 34 feet from holes two-11, a span that included five birdies as well as the double-bogey.
At 18, however, Molder's 10-footer for birdie slid past the cup.
Davis hasn't had a bogey since the ninth hole on Thursday, and kept that streak intact with a couple of good saves.
At the par-five 11th he made a 16-footer for par after finding a fairway bunker.
