Perry turning Colonial into his own playground

FORT WORTH, Texas - Kenny Perry feels as if he's in his own backyard at the Colonial, and he's turning the old course into his personal playground.

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So comfortable with the course that his vision problems aren't even a concern this week, Perry shot 6-under 64 Saturday to set another Colonial scoring record and take a seven-stroke lead over Billy Mayfair and Steve Stricker going into the final round.

Perry broke his own 54-hole scoring record at 18-under 192. It is also the lowest score at the end of three rounds on the PGA Tour this season, although Joe Ogilvie's 193 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in January was 23 under.

Through 54 holes, Perry has just one bogey - on No. 8, his 17th hole Thursday. He has made 45-of-48 putts from 15 feet or less, including a 5-footer after blasting from the sand to avoid a closing bogey Saturday.

The 44-year-old Perry is playing even better than he did when he won Colonial in 2003, an event more known for Annika Sorenstam becoming the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA Tour.

During his Colonial victory two years ago, Perry matched the course record (61), set the 54-hole scoring record for the first time and won with an overall record of 19 over.

This year, Perry started with a 36-hole scoring record of 12 under.

Perry gets excited each time he gets to the first tee and sees the wall where his name is engraved with other Colonial champions, including Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Sam Snead.

Unless there is an unprecedented collapse Sunday, Perry's will become only the 10th name on the wall more than once. He has won this season, at Bay Hill in March for his eighth PGA victory.

Playing in record heat, with temperatures in the upper 90s, on another day with little or no breeze, very unusual for the Colonial, Perry was able to separate himself from the field.

Mayfair, who hasn't won since 1998, and Stricker, trying to regain full-time playing privileges on tour, both had 66s Saturday. Peter Lonard was fourth, eight strokes back, after his 65.

Even those low rounds couldn't get them close to Perry, who hadn't shot better than 66 this year before getting to Hogan's Alley, where he has rounds of 65, 63 and 64.

Phil Mickelson, who trails Perry by 16 strokes after a third-round 68, was the only other player to carry a seven-stroke lead into a final round this year. Mickelson was the first wire-to-wire winner at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February.

After a couple of opening pars, including the 563-yard No. 1, when his first two shots missed the fairway, Perry had three birdies in a five-hole stretch.

And even when he appeared to be in trouble, Perry made it look easy.

His approach at No. 5 wound up in a deep bunker fronting the green, but he blasted to within 3 feet to save par. The drive on the next hole was in the left rough, but he pitched to 12 feet for birdie, and then followed with another at No. 7 with an approach to less than 4 feet.

Perry, who twice had laser surgery on his eyes, is having vision problems that make it difficult to read greens or see clearly from long distances and shady spots. He plans to visit an eye doctor next week and expects to be wearing glasses after that.

He's seeing things fine at Colonial, just missing several long putts in the third round.

A 32-foot birdie chance stopped within a foot of the pin at No. 9, and a 45-footer rolled within 2 feet at the next hole. There was a two-putt birdie at the 611-yard 11th, when the first putt from 62 feet stopped within a foot, and he later had two 24-footers that stopped within about 12 inches.

Mayfair would have been closer if not for the 188-yard 16th hole, where he had to make an incredible recovery after his tee shot bounded off the bleachers and landed on a cobblestone path by the clubhouse. He got a drop, pitched past the hole and two-putted from 54 feet uphill for a bogey.

After opening his round an eagle 3, with an approach at No. 1 to less than 5 feet, Mayfair got to 5 under on his round and was alone in second place before he got to No. 16.

Divots: Mickelson, the 2000 Colonial champion and only of the world's top-five players at Colonial, shot 68 for a three-round total of 2-under 208.... Ted Purdy came in with a chance to join Ben Hogan (1946) as the only players to win the Byron Nelson Champion and the Colonial the same year. He went into Saturday tied for second with D.J Trahan just three strokes back. Purdy and Trahan both shot 71, falling into a group of five tied for seventh, 10 strokes back.