Four share 54-hole lead on jam-packed Nationwide Miccosukee scoreboard

MIAMI, Fla. -- Saturday's third round of the Miccosukee Championship did very little to clear up a murky leaderboard. As they say, it's as clear as mud now. With a difficult course aided by thick Bermuda rough and gusting winds, the field bunched up enough that you'd need crystal ball and Ouija board to figure who might emerge from the pack and step into the winner's circle on Sunday.

Four players are at 9-under 204 and share the 54-hole lead in the Nationwide Tour's final full-field event of the 2009 season: Australia's Andrew Buckle, Chad Collins, Justin Smith and Josh Broadaway.

Michael Sims of Bermuda, Brian Smock and Aussie Won Joon Lee are just one shot off the pace at minus-8.

Sixteen players are within four of the lead, 20 are within five shots and 30 are within six as they all chase the $112,500 first-place check.

The top 60 money winners after this week will advance to next week's Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island, S.C. Those 60 will be vying for a spot among the 25 who will earn PGA Tour cards for the 2010 season.

"It was a struggle," said Smith, who came back to play two holes Saturday morning and finish up a weather-delayed second round that ultimately had him as the 36-hole leader. "The wind switched around from a different direction and it was tough.

"I hit a lot of poor shots that luckily didn't end up too bad," he added. "I've played great rounds in the wind but unfortunately today wasn't one of them."

He wasn't alone in that regard. The best rounds of the day were 3-under 68s turned in by seven players. The 7,200-yard layout played a full stroke harder in Saturday's third round than it had the previous two.

Buckle had one of those 68s despite hitting only four of 14 fairways.

"My short game was spot on today," said the Queenslander, who held the first-round lead after a 7-under 64. "I got the ball up-and-down a lot, which you need to do in wind like this. I didn't drive it bad but I don't think I hit many fairways.

"It's really hard to get any rhythm with your swing because you're always hitting into crosswinds and such," he explained. "If you're just slightly off in the wind, it can really affect it quite a bit."

Buckle was the first to reach the clubhouse at 9 under, playing the final 16 holes at 4 under and without a bogey. Four players were in double figures at some point during the round but failed to hold it together down the stretch.

Collins was 10 under on the final hole but dumped his second shot into a back bunker with an awkward downhill lie. He needed a 15-foot putt just to save bogey on the hole.

"Yeah, if there was ever a good bogey, that was one of them," said Collins. "I had a bad lie in the fairway, a tough lie in the back bunker and a terrible lie with my third shot."

Collins coaxed in his bogey putt to join Buckle for what appeared to be a share of third place. Broadaway and Smith, playing in the final group and sharing the lead at 10 under, turned a twosome into a foursome when they both made bogeys at the closing hole.

Smith hit a squirter out of the left rough that wound up 60 feet from a tucked pin. He would miss from 10 feet for par. Broadaway had only 25 feet but it was slick and downhill and he wound up missing from six feet on his comeback attempt.

The result is that it's now anybody's game and anybody's guess who winds up with the biggest smile on Sunday. Collins has finished second three times already this year but is No. 8 on the money and has locked up his playing card for next year. Buckle is No. 28 on the money and could join Collins in that category with a win.

Broadaway, one of the quickest players on any Tour, is No. 88 on the money list and needs to finish at least solo third just to make next week's season finale. Smith is No. 128 and he has to finish second to play another week.

"Tomorrow's a new day," said Collins. "A lot of guys would like to be in this spot, and I'm one of them. It should be fun."

The four-way tie for the lead is the most players to share a 54-hole lead this year and the most since four shared the lead at the 2008 Melwood Prince George's County Open. Previously, the most tied after 54 holes this year was two, which occurred seven times, most recently at the Soboba Classic. The Nationwide Tour record for most players tied for the 54-hole lead is five at the 1994 New Mexico Charity Open.

Third-Round Notes: The 615-yard, par-5 16th hole is playing to a scoring average of 5.114 thus far, which would make it the toughest par 5 on Tour this year. Only four par 5s have had a scoring average above-par this year.

A total of 14 of the top 25 money winners made the cut this week: No. 1 Michael Sim, No. 3 Derek Lamely, No. 4 Chris Tidland, No. 7 Cameron Percy, No. 8 Chad Collins, No. 11 Kevin Johnson, No. 12 Josh Teater, No. 16 Jerod Turner, No. 17 Henrik Bjornstad, No. 19 Fran Quinn, No. 20 Chris Baryla, No. 21 Vance Veazey, No. 24 Alistair Presnell and No. 25 Brian Stuard.

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