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LAS VEGAS : Chad Campbell birdied the final hole to claim a share of the lead alongside new dad Scott Piercy on Saturday after three rounds of the PGA Tour's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Campbell, who shared the overnight lead, carded a four-under par 67 while Piercy shot a 65 for a 17-under total of 196.
They were one stroke in front of Scotland's Martin Laird, whose 67 put him alone in third place on 197.
Jason Bohn (65), Jeff Klauk (66), Bob Heintz (68) and 2007 champion George McNeill (63) share fourth place at 15-under 198.
The leaders could be benefiting from a little local knowledge.
Campbell played collegiate golf for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Piercy is a Las Vegas native and still lives in Sin City.
Piercy is having a week to celebrate no matter what the outcome of the tournament. His wife, Sara, gave birth to the couple's third child on Thursday and if this tournament was anywhere but home, Piercy would have pulled out.
Piercy opened with a birdie, and thrust himself into contention with back-to-back birdies at nine and 10.
He picked up another stroke at the par-five 13th, then nabbed another brace at 15 and 16 to join Campbell atop the leaderboard.
Campbell edged ahead again with a birdie of his own at 15, but Campbell made a hash of the 16th before closing with a birdie to regain a share of the lead.
"My legs have been weak all week," Piercy said of the tension of waiting for the birth of his son. "It has been good overall. Just taking it one shot at a time, which is the whole thing."
Campbell's round was highlighted by an eagle at the 12th, where his second shot from some 130 yards landed six feet in front of the hole and rolled in for an eagle.
He went on to birdie 13 and 15, before running into trouble at the par-five 16th.
His six-iron second shot from the fairway was short and fell back into the water.
He took a drop, knocked his fourth shot over the green and then pitched five feet past the hole.
He missed the putt to settle for a double bogey.
"It came out a little low," said Campbell of his second shot at 16. "I actually hit it pretty good. I needed to get it up in the air a little bit higher. Unfortunately, I doubled there, but was able to end the round with a birdie on 18."
Campbell's season has been lackluster since he lost in a three-way playoff at The Masters won by Angel Cabrera in April. He hasn't notched a top-10 finish since.
"It is a little tough," admitted Campbell. "You can get down on yourself pretty quick out here." - AFP/ms
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