Veazey grabs lead on great day for scoring in Panama

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PANAMA CITY, Panama -- A pristine morning of warm sunshine and gentle breezes greeted players at the Panama Digicel Championship on Saturday, and the field seized the opportunity to post some of the lowest rounds of the week.

Badz/PGA TOUR

Vance Veazey is one round away from his second win in Panama.

Inside the Numbers

54-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score 1. Vance Veazey 204 -6 T2. Len Mattiace 205 -5 T2. Jim Herman 205 -5 T2. Camilo Benedetti 205 -5 T2. Jeff Gove 205 -5 T6. Esteban Toledo 206 -4 T6. Chris Smith 206 -4 T6. Rafael Gomez 206 -4

Vance Veazey emerged on top after firing a 2-under-par 68 to finish the third round at 6-under 204, one shot ahead of four others -- Len Mattiace, Jim Herman, Jeff Gove and Camilo Benedetti. Benedetti, born in Medellin, Colombia, is also the only sponsor exemption to make the cut.

Veazey, a three-time Nationwide Tour winner and the 2005 champion, looks to become the first two-time winner here.

"I didn't hit the ball quite as well today, but I made some key putts when I had to, like a six-footer for par on 17," said Veazey, who is one of the better putters on the Nationwide Tour. He ranked 38th and 14th in 2008 and 2007, respectively.

Saturday's wind was light, a blessing for many players on the course that played as the toughest on Tour in the 2008. But Veazey has a different perspective.

"I hope the wind comes up a bit tomorrow; it benefits me," he said. "I keep the ball down and have a lot of experience playing in the wind in Memphis."

Veazey finished tied for 10th at the PGA TOUR's Stanford St. Jude Championship in 2007 in windy conditions.

Asked about his mindset for Sunday as the 54-hole leader of the first official Nationwide Tour event of 2009, Veazey said, "It feels terrific to get off to a good start. I have great memories here and have been in this situation before."

When Veazey won here three years ago, he also held the lead after the third round and shot even-par 70 to win by one stroke. But he'll have no easy task with 13 players within three shots of the lead.

"The scores are always very tight at this event," said former PGA TOUR winner and Jacksonville, Fla., resident Mattiace. "I started six strokes back today and finished just one shot behind the leader -- anything can happen over the weekend."

Second-round leader Rafael Gomez of Argentina finished with a 1-over-par 71 and is tied for sixth with Esteban Toledo and Chris Smith at 4 under for the event.

Third-Round Notes: Justin Hicks and Mattiace posted the low rounds of the week with a pair of 64s. This is one stroke off the course record of 63 (held by three players). They both shot 4-under-par 31 on the front nine, which is also one stroke shy of the front-nine record of 30 (held by four players). ... John Riegger holed out on the 18th for an eagle-2. The 465-yard par 4 is the second-most difficult on the course through three rounds, with a scoring average of 4.194. There have been only two eagles on the hole previously -- Chez Reavie (2006, Round 1) and Sean Pacetti (2005, Round 2).