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By John Bush
PGA TOUR Staff

GLENVIEW, Ill. -- For the third time in the last five tournaments on the Nationwide Tour, three players will enter the final round with a share of the lead. At this week's LaSalle Bank Open, Jason Day, John Riegger and Tag Ridings share the honors at 13-under-par 203 after matching 4-under 68s on Saturday.

While Riegger and Ridings were consistent with bogey-free rounds, Day was anything but on his way to a rollercoaster ride around the par-72 Glen Club. After moving to 2 under on his round through six holes and 11 under overall, the Tour's youngest player at 19 years of age posted a double bogey on the par-4 sixth hole. Inclement weather then forced a 53-minute delay, after which Day posted bogeys on Nos. 11 and 13 to fall well off the pace at 8 under.

"My score was definitely going in the wrong direction," said Day, who currently sits No. 33 on the official money list. "But I played fantastic after the bogey on No. 13."

Fantastic may be an understatement to describe the Australian's final five holes. He drained a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 14th hole to get things back on track. Birdies followed on Nos. 15 and 16 and then the round culminated with a two-putt for birdie from 18 feet on the finishing hole.

"I'm just trying to stay level and not get too high or too low," said Day. "That is what I have been working on all year. Making the amount of birdies I'm making, I can win if I cut down the mistakes."

His largest mistake almost occurred before he ever arrived at the golf course on Saturday. A fitful night of sleep came to a halt when his caddie sent him a text message just 10 minutes before they were scheduled to leave their hotel on Saturday morning.

"I couldn't sleep last night," said Day. "I set my alarm for 7:45 a.m. and I don't remember waking up. Luckily, Colin messaged me 10 minutes before we were to leave. The first half of the day I didn't know where I was. I was actually glad to have the rain delay because I was getting sleepy out there."

After winning nearly every amateur championship in Australia, Day is eager to post his first professional victory on the Nationwide Tour.

"I just want to go out and play golf," said Day. "I want to go out there and enjoy it like I have the last three days. The best players have come here to play so it would be great to win this one. Hopefully I'll be holding up the trophy at the end of the day."

The three leaders will have plenty of company as they chase the Tour's largest first-place prize ($135,000) in a full-field event. Roland Thatcher (67), B.J. Staten (69) and second-round leader Omar Uresti (71) sit just one shot back at 12 under, while an additional seven players are three shots back at 10 under.

"There are a lot of good players at the top of the leaderboard," said Uresti. "It will take a good round (to win) tomorrow. The greens are fairly receptive so it will be a shootout."

Third-Round News & Notes: Play was suspended due to lightning in the area at 12:47 p.m. The delay lasted for 53 minutes, with play resuming at 1:40 p.m. ... Due to forecast inclement weather on Sunday afternoon, threesomes will go off of split tees from 7:00 a.m. until 8:50 a.m. ... Chris Stroud has posted an eagle in each round so far this week, including the par-5 18th hole the last two rounds. His other eagle came during the opening round at the par-4 eighth hole. No other player in the field has more than one. ... The 54-hole leader has gone on to win just five times in 11 tournaments so far this season. ... The 54-hole leader has gone on to win twice in five years at the LaSalle Bank Open, most recently Chris Couch in 2005. ... There were six bogey-free rounds on Saturday (Chris Stroud, 66; Kris Blanks, 67; Jay Williamson, 68; John Riegger, 68; Tag Ridings, 68, Tim Wilkinson, 70), bringing the total for the week to 22. ... Tag Ridings has now played his last 38 holes without a bogey. ... Gary Hallberg saw his bogey-free streak to start this week's tournament snapped at 44 holes at the ninth hole. ... Brian Smock withdrew prior to the start of the third round with food poisoning.

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