St. Jude: Owen, Gomez tied

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Englishman Greg Owen and Fabian Gomez of Argentina each shot a 3-under 67 Saturday to share a one-stroke lead after 54 holes at the St. Jude Classic.

Swirling wind and tough pins kept everyone guessing on a hectic day at TPC Southwind where as many as six players had a piece of the lead at some point.

But Owen, looking for his first PGA Tour title in his 214th event, had four birdies and one bogey in the third round. Gomez opened with the first of his three bogeys and finished with six birdies.

Brooks Koepka had at least a piece of the lead through the first two rounds and got to 10 under. He finished with a 71 and is tied with Scott Brown (68) for second at 202.

Matt Jones (68) and Austin Cook (72) are tied at 204, and David Toms (69) and Camilo Villegas (66) are tied with six others at 205. Phil Mickelson (69) is in a group tied at 207.

Owen and Gomez have won before, but not on the PGA Tour. But one of them could break through if they continue to putt well on the firm greens. Each player hit only 11 of 18 greens, Gomez had 24 putts and Owen finished with 26.

Owen, 43, who lives in Florida, had been struggling so far this year, missing five of 12 cuts on tour. His best career finish is second at the 2006 Arnold Palmer Invitational, but his best result this season is a tie for 22nd last November at the Sanderson Farms Championship. His lone bogey came on No. 10.

Owen, who shared the 18-hole lead with Koepka and Ryan Palmer, moved atop the leaderboard with Gomez when he birdied the par-3 No. 14 with an 11-foot putt. He also finished with a birdie on No. 18 after hitting his approach to 5 feet.

Gomez, 36, birdied four of five holes through No. 6 to grab a piece of the lead at 9 under, and he stayed atop the leaderboard for seven holes. He bogeyed No. 11 after hitting into a back bunker on the par-3 island green and bogeyed No. 13.

He birdied Nos. 15 and 16, creating a three-way tie once again with Owen and Cook.

Cook, a 24-year-old Arkansas native playing just his fourth PGA event, had a share of the lead at 8 under through 13 holes.

DIVOTS: Steven Alker of New Zealand also had the lead at 9 under when he eagled the par-5 No. 3, holing out from 17 yards from the rough just off the front of the green. But he shot a 74 and was at 207. ... Harrison Frazar had an eight on the par-3 11th when he hit into the water twice and needed two strokes to get out of a bunker.

This article was written by Teresa M. Walker from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.