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De Jonge shares lead in Vegas

Las Vegas - Swede Jonas Blixt birdied six of the last seven holes to regain a share of the lead with Zimbabwean Brendon de Jonge after Saturday's third round of the $4.5m Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Co-leader with the burly De Jonge overnight, PGA Tour rookie Blixt took advantage of another near-perfect day for scoring in the Nevada desert as he fired a sizzling five-under-par 66 to post a 19-under total of 194.

De Jonge finished with four birdies in his last five holes to card a matching 66 while first-round pacesetter Ryan Moore of the United States made it a three-way tie at the top after returning a flawless 65.

With Americans Jimmy Walker (66) and Tim Herron (68) next best at 14-under, the first of four events in the PGA Tour's Fall Series seems set for a Sunday shoot-out between the lead trio in the final round at the TPC Summerlin.

"I enjoy it. It's nice playing next to guys that are playing well and making putts," Moore, who played in the company of de Jonge and Blixt on Saturday and will do so again on Sunday, told reporters.

"Sometimes it makes that hole look even bigger when you see them (putts) just keep dropping. That's what was happening, especially on the back nine today.

"Both of them got rolling and made a bunch of birdies in a row and I kind of threw in a couple here and there and kind of stayed there with them."

De Jonge, who like Blixt is bidding for his first victory on the PGA Tour, also relished the scoring frenzy.

"When everyone is playing well you can feed off each other, and I think we did a good job of that today," the 32-year-old said. "Everyone played well, and hopefully we'll have more of the same tomorrow."

Moore, who won his only PGA Tour title at the 2009 Wyndham Championship, does not rule out the chance of a fourth contender bursting from the chasing pack on Sunday.

"I've got two guys that I am playing against that are playing great golf and then a course that's playing very score-able," said the 29-year-old Las Vegas resident, who has played the TPC Summerlin layout countless times.

"Somebody that's a handful of shots behind us can go out and shoot seven, eight, nine, 10-under. You've seen those scores this week."

Moore, who recorded six birdies in a bogey-free display on Saturday, equalled the course record when he fired a scintillating 61 in Thursday's opening round.

American world number 21 Nick Watney, the highest-ranked player in the field, was at 10-under after carding a 71, level with Fijian former world No 1 Vijay Singh (71).

US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, whose 12-man team stunningly lost to a resurgent Europe after being outplayed in the concluding singles at Medinah on Sunday, was a further five shots back after battling to a 73.

Twice major winner John Daly, who had been just four strokes off the pace overnight, spectacularly imploded as he carded a 15-over 86 to plummet from a tie for sixth into 72nd spot, last place among those players who made the cut.

Scores on Saturday after the third round of the $4.5m US PGA Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (par-71, USA unless noted):

Brendon De Jonge (Zimbabwe) 62 66 66
Ryan Moore (U.S.) 61 68 65 199 Jimmy Walker (U.S.) 67 66 66
Tim Herron (U.S.) 63 68 68 201 Colt Knost (U.S.) 68 67 66
Jason Day (Australia) 69 68 64
Jason Bohn (U.S.) 71 66 64
Russell Knox (Britain) 66 67 68 202 Josh Teater (U.S.) 70 65 67
Ken Duke (U.S.) 66 68 68 203 Bill Lunde (U.S.) 67 69 67
Kevin Streelman (U.S.) 68 67 68
Bobby Gates (U.S.) 70 67 66
Blake Adams (U.S.) 65 70 68
Ryan Palmer (U.S.) 67 70 66
Nick Watney (U.S.) 66 66 71
Chris Kirk (U.S.) 64 68 71
Daniel Summerhays (U.S.) 68 63 72
Vijay Singh (Fiji) 66 66 71 204 Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) 65 71 68
Jeff Overton (U.S.) 70 66 68
Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 70 66 68
Michael Thompson (U.S.) 70 66 68
Patrick Reed (U.S.) 65 69 70
Kevin Na (U.S.) 68 66 70
John Huh (U.S.) 63 69 72
Justin Leonard (U.S.) 64 69 71 205 Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela) 68 68 69
Edward Loar (U.S.) 67 68 70
Richard Lee (U.S.) 66 68 71
Stewart Cink (U.S.) 68 69 68
Bob Estes (U.S.) 69 68 68
Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 68 70 67 206 Brendan Steele (U.S.) 69 67 70
Roberto Castro (U.S.) 69 66 71
Kevin Stadler (U.S.) 66 68 72
Andres Romero (Argentina) 68 66 72
Scott Piercy (U.S.) 67 66 73 207 Ricky Barnes (U.S.) 68 69 70
Robert Karlsson (Sweden) 69 68 70
John Mallinger (U.S.) 70 65 72
Vaughn Taylor (U.S.) 65 72 70
Mathew Goggin (Australia) 68 69 70
Robert Garrigus (U.S.) 66 68 73
Chris Riley (U.S.) 68 70 69
David Hearn (Canada) 68 70 69 208 Scott Brown (U.S.) 69 67 72
Billy Mayfair (U.S.) 70 66 72
John Merrick (U.S.) 69 67 72
David Mathis (U.S.) 68 68 72
Sean O'Hair (U.S.) 67 70 71
Daniel Chopra (Sweden) 68 67 73
Davis Love III (U.S.) 68 67 73
Heath Slocum (U.S.) 67 67 74
Marc Turnesa (U.S.) 70 68 70
Troy Kelly (U.S.) 68 70 70
Tommy Biershenk (U.S.) 68 70 70 209 J.J. Killeen (U.S.) 66 68 75
Will Claxton (U.S.) 70 68 71
Steve Wheatcroft (U.S.) 69 69 71 210 Nathan Green (Australia) 68 68 74
Harris English (U.S.) 71 66 73
J.B. Holmes (U.S.) 70 67 73
George McNeill (U.S.) 70 68 72
Rod Pampling (Australia) 70 68 72 211 Matt Bettencourt (U.S.) 68 70 73 212 Gary Christian (Britain) 68 68 76
Erik Compton (U.S.) 66 71 75
Chad Campbell (U.S.) 73 65 74 215 Hunter Hamrick (U.S.) 69 69 77 218 John Daly (U.S.) 69 63 86 211 WDW Rocco Mediate (U.S.) 69 68 74
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