Late bogey costs Verplank outright lead at Disney

MIAMI (Reuters) - Scott Verplank bogeyed the final hole to surrender the outright lead to playing partner Steve Marino in Saturday's third round of the Disney Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Three ahead of the chasing pack overnight, American Verplank struck his tee shot at the last into a muddy divot before pulling his approach into a greenside bunker and missing a 12-footer for par.

His bogey five gave him a three-under 69 and a 19-under total of 197 on another day of ideal scoring at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Marino, seeking his first PGA Tour title in his second season on the circuit, maintained his bogey-free run this week by shooting a six-birdie 66 on the Magnolia layout.

Like compatriot Verplank, he ended up in a bunker with his approach at the last but managed to get up and down to save par for a share of the 54-hole lead.

Tour veteran Davis Love III fired the best round of the day with a sparkling 64 to lie joint third at 17 under with fellow American Scott Sterling (66).

"I am driving the ball great, I am hitting good iron shots and I am putting well," Marino told reporters. "Hopefully I can keep that up but I don't know if I can go 72 holes without making a bogey. That's a tall order.

"I've kind of been struggling a little bit scoring lately but this week I have been capitalising on my good shots and making a few more putts than usual."

UPBEAT MOOD

Despite feeling out-of-sorts and signing off with a bogey, Verplank was in upbeat mood.

"I'm happy that I'm sitting here and it's nice to be playing well," the five-times PGA Tour winner said after a round featuring four birdies and one bogey. "I'm excited about it.

"I've got some sort of congestion which has made me feel a little dizzy and I'm not at full strength but maybe that's the secret so far. I'm hoping that I'll get a good night's sleep and feel a little stronger tomorrow."

Verplank, who covered the back nine in a blistering six under par on Friday to surge three ahead of the field, had his advantage trimmed to one after Marino birdied the first and second holes in bright sunshine.

However, the tournament leader picked up his first shot of the round at the par-three third and stayed two ahead when he and Marino recorded matching birdies at the par-five eighth.

At the 500-yard ninth, Verplank struck a superb hybrid wood approach to 14 feet and calmly rolled in the putt to regain his three-shot cushion.

Although he picked up another shot at the 11th where he hit his second shot to four feet, Marino trimmed the deficit with birdies at the 10th, 13th and 14th before benefiting from Verplank's stumble at the last.