Golf: Perks on target to get Tour card

LA QUINTA - New Zealand golfer Craig Perks continued to run hot at the United States PGA Tour qualifying school in California yesterday.

Perks produced a flawless round of nine-under 63 to sit alone in sixth place on 268 after the fourth round at PGA West in La Quinta.

The top 35, plus ties from the 168-strong field in the six-round tournament, earn their cards for next year's PGA Tour.

Perks has placed himself in an ideal position to do just that.

His round included five birdies and two eagles, on the par-five second and 16th holes, and helped to propel him up the leaderboard from a share for 21st.

His 20-under total was seven strokes behind the leader, South African Andrew McLardy.

Frank Nobilo improved 20 places yesterday to be the best of the rest of the New Zealanders.

He was in a tie for 15th on 15-under 273 after carding an eight-under 66.

Michael Long had a 69 to share 52nd place on 279.

Phil Tataurangi has a lot of work to do after posting a 71 to share 90th place on 283.

The day's highlight was a scintillating round of 59 by last year's United States amateur champion, David Gossett.

He was catapulted from a share of 129th to a tie for 25th after posting 11 birdies, plus a hole-in-one on the par-three third.

It was just the sixth 59 ever recorded in a PGA-sanctioned competition.

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn fired a blistering seven-under 65 to earn a share of the lead with South African Ernie Els after the third round of the Sun City Challenge in Botswana.

Bjorn and Els, who had a 67, were on 200, two shots ahead of Lee Westwood, of Britain, and Zimbabwean Nick Price.

Westwood, the European Order of Merit winner, carded a 68 and Price, three times a winner of this event, posted a 67.

New Zealand's Michael Campbell was 10 strokes behind the joint leaders after posting a two-under 70 to go alongside his earlier rounds of 72 and 68.

Britain's Colin Montgomerie had the joint low round of the day, an eight-under 64, after a bogey at the first.

He picked up shots at the second, fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth, 10th, 12th and 13th to rocket him to a share of sixth place with Jose Maria Olazabal, of Spain, seven strokes from the lead.

"I'm very happy with the round," Montgomerie said. "I hit 13 out of 14 fairways and every green in regulation.

"I had only 28 putts, which is the maximum you can have to shoot 64."

American John Huston was the other man to post a 64.

He had a bogey-free round that included eight birdies, six coming on the back nine.

It moved him to just three shots off the pace.

Sergio Garcia, of Spain, double-bogeyed the last hole and watched his lead shrink to one shot after the third round of the Williams World Challenge at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California.

Garcia began the day two strokes ahead of Davis Love and three shots ahead of tournament host Tiger Woods, but his last-hole stumble set up a showdown with Woods in the final round of the 12-man event.

Garcia shot a three-under 69 for a three-day total of 18 under and Woods had a five-under 67 to go to 17 under. Love stood at 14 under after a 71.

- NZPA