Howell III, Ridings lead at Turning Stone Championship

Oct 5, 2008 - 1:34 AM VERONA, New York (Ticker) -- Charles Howell III and Tag Ridings are tied for the lead after Saturday's third round of the Turning Stone Championship.

Ridings was in front for most of the afternoon before a bogey at No. 18 dropped him to 8-under-par 208 and into a tie for the lead with Howell.

Howell fired a 3-under 69 to a 71 for Ridings and the duo has a one-stroke lead over a group of four players.

Howell birdied his first two holes on Saturday and three of his first five. He cooled off with bogeys at Nos. 7 and 9, but rebounded with two more birdies coming in, including one on 18 to cap his round.

Looking for his third career win and first of the season, Howell has not been putting it great, but has been making up for it in other areas.

"I'm driving the ball better and driving the ball in the fairway more," Howell said. "And then the putting, I was starting to putt a little bit better. It's tough to play out here an average of about 31 or 32 putts a round. It's hard to hit it good enough to make up for that.

"But I have been able to manage the golf ball in the wind the first couple days, you know, where I don't make any big numbers. A lot of balls in the middle of the greens."

Ridings had four birdies and three bogeys, including a costly one at 18 that left him tied for the lead.

"I played solid today. I hit a lot of good shots towards the middle of the greens and had some decent looks at it," Ridings said. "Outside of a couple giveaways on the front nine and the one on 18, I played really good for 15 holes."

Kyle Thompson, Brian Davis, Jason Day and Jeff Overton are tied for third at 7-under 209. Overton entered Saturday with a one-stroke lead, but couldn't build on it and settled for a 1-over 73

First prize is $1.08 million.