Waldorf 'survival' joy

Duffy Waldorf put together another solid round to retain a one-stroke lead after 54 holes of the Phoenix Open here yesterday.

Following his back-to-back 65s, Waldorf carded a four-under-par 67 to end the third round at 16 under par on 197. The 39-year-old is one stroke ahead of Chris DiMarco and Kenny Perry and two shots in front of John Daly. Sweden's Per-Ulrik Johansson is three shots back after carding a six-under-par 65.

Waldorf enjoyed a bogey-free round and has just four in the tournament. He had a relatively quiet front nine with just a birdie on the eighth, but he continued to make the most of the par-fives on the back nine. He sank short birdie putts at the 13th, 15th and 17th.

"Today was just kind of survival, struggling to get the ball close to the hole," Waldorf said. "I think if the scores are this close together, there's going to be somebody who goes out and shoots a good round. It could be a six-under round, could be a seven-under round. That's a possibility."

Daly, who lives in Arizona, said: "I gave myself opportunities to make some birdies. Everywhere I go, it feels like home. It's just nice to be playing good for the fans. It means an awful lot to them and it means an awful lot to me."

Phil Mickelson, coming off his 20th Tour career win last week, is tied for 30th at five-under on 208. Ty Tryon, the youngest member of the PGA Tour, missed the cut after finishing his rain-affected second round early in the morning. The 17-year-old shot a level-par 71 but his opening round of 77 left him seven shots shy of the cut. "I struck the ball pretty good, just not where I wanted," he said.