Feb 27, 2005 4 min read

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) – Kevin Na is getting used to playing in final threesomes. Three weeks after tying Scott McCarron for second in Phoenix, Na is back in the hunt for his first title. The 21-year-old Californian – the youngest player on the PGA Tour – shot a 7-under 65 Saturday to share the third-round lead with Geoff Ogilvy at 18-under 198.

He and Ogilvy, who carded a 67, both stepped up when second-round leader Mark Calcavecchia faltered.

Ogilvy, 27, who has finished second three times, is another good bet to win his first title, and seems to be in the right place – Tucson is known for producing first-time winners, 14 in all and four in the last five years.

Ogilvy thought that made sense for a tournament that shares a weekend with the prestigious Match Play Championship.

“Everyone is kind of in the same boat, if you know what I mean,” he said. “There’s a lot of guys here just out on Tour or just got up from the Q-school last year, or good players like Calc and Billy (Mayfair) who’ve maybe been struggling for their standards.”

Doug Barron was a shot back after shooting a 67. Calcavecchia, who dropped three strokes over two holes on the back nine, had a 71 and was tied with Lucas Glover (69) at 200.

Darron Stiles (67), Brent Geiberger (69) and Joe Ogilvie (69) were three shots off the pace, with Billy Mayfair in a group of seven at 202.

“Par is not going to get the job done, so you have to keep going, make a few putts,” Ogilvy said.

Aaron Baddeley, last year’s runner-up, was among six golfers at 204, a group that included Brett Wetterich, who shot a 66 during the most eventful round of the tournament.

Wetterich, playing his third season on the PGA Tour after spending two years on the Nationwide circuit, had an eagle and six birdies in his first eight holes.

He needed one more birdie to tie the Tour nine-hole scoring record, but made bogey instead. Then Wetterich rolled in two straight birdies after the turn to reach 15 under and tie Calcavecchia for the lead.

A disastrous stretch followed. Wetterich made a double bogey on his 11th hole after hooking his drive behind a tree, then double-bogeyed his 12th after his tee shot bounced off a hill and into a lake.

He finished the round with four pars and a ninth birdie.

“It was tough, trust me,” said Wetterich, who will finish in the money for the first time in four events this year. “After the second double bogey, I just tried to refocus, if you can say that, just trying to make a par before I tried anything.”

Na made four straight birdies, starting with the third hole.

He offset his only bogey – at No. 7 – by reaching the par-5 eighth hole in two shots and two-putting for another birdie.

Na turned the round into the best of the day with a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 10, a 14-footer at the 14th and an 82-foot chip for birdie from the front of the 15th green.

“I’ve learned a lot from last year, playing on Tour,” Na said. “I played a lot of events – 32 in the States and two overseas, and all that tournament experience is helping a lot for me, and I’m playing a lot smarter.”

Ogilvy was even more steady. He had a bogey-free round, but failed to take the lead because he couldn’t coax enough putts to drop.

But he was still the best among the final group with Calcavecchia and Mayfair, who shot a 72. Ogilvy birdied the second, fifth, 10th, 15th and 16th holes for his share of the lead.

Calcavecchia got off on the wrong foot with a bogey on the first hole, but still maintained the lead at 14 under when Mayfair also bogeyed.

With three birdies in the next nine holes, he seemed in command, until his drive on the 431-yard 11th hole landed in the rough only 101 yards from the pin.

Calcavecchia chunked two irons, still leaving himself a chip to get on the green, then two-putted from 34 feet for a double-bogey 6.