Golf: Simpson's record round tees up grand finale: South African shows his class and promise of future greatness as an American proves his worth in Fort Worth

SCOTT SIMPSON extended his run of holes without a bogey to 43 as he moved to a four-shot lead over Gary Hallberg after the third round of the Colonial Tournament, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Simpson, the 1987 US Open champion, teed off with a one-shot lead and built on it as he compiled six birdies for a faultless six-under-par 64 on the damp Colonial Country Club course. He started with a birdie from 40 feet at the first hole and finished in style, saving par after a splendid bunker shot at the last to post a tournament best of 15-under with one round to play, two shots better than the previous mark.

'We all know how important 54-hole records are,' Simpson said wryly, implying that only the final score mattered. 'It was a low score and it could have been lower.'

Simpson was delighted with his fairway bunker shot at his final hole, the 391-yard ninth, guarded by a pond in front of the green. He chose an eight-iron and rifled his approach shot to 15 feet for an easy two-putt par. 'That's one of the best shots I've hit in a long time,' the 38-year-old winner of six PGA Tour events said. 'I had a sidehill lie in the bunker with water staring me in the face.'

Hallberg shot 65 to hold second place, four shots behind, while last week's Memorial winner, Tom Lehman, was next, six strokes off the pace. 'Last week I made 23 birdies and two eagles, but I also made a lot of bogeys, double

bogeys and triple bogeys,' Hallberg, who tied for 11th at the Memorial, said.

'I thought that if I didn't force anything this week and stayed

patient, things would happen. It was a low-stress round. It's like when the speed limit is 55 and you're going 52.'