Jul 15, 2006 5:01 pm US/Pacific
Senden Leads Deere Classic After 3rd Rd.
SILVIS, Ill (AP) ―
John Senden took the lead and the spotlight at the John Deere Classic on Saturday, one day after Michelle Wie withdrew because of heat exhaustion.
With temperatures in the low 90s, Senden shot a 7-under 64 and was 16 under through three rounds.
Heath Slocum and Patrick Sheehan were three back at 13 under.
Second-round leader Joe Ogilvie, Alex Cejka, Steve Jones, J.P. Hayes and Daniel Chopra were 12 under.
With the hype surrounding Wie's bid to become the first woman in 61 years to make the cut on the PGA Tour, the rest of the field was overshadowed.
The 16-year-old Wie had finished a combined five shots off the lead in the first three LPGA majors this year and was back at the site of her close call in 2005, when she missed the cut by two strokes. A 6-over 77 on the first day all but dashed her hopes.
And with the temperature at 88 Friday, the heat got to her. Wie was 8 over when she withdrew after nine holes, making her 0-for-5 on the PGA.
She was treated at the course medical trailer and taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she was released Friday night.
In a four-way tie for second and one shot off the lead through two rounds, Senden birdied the first two holes and seven in all.
He saved par on No. 17 after his tee shot sailed to the right and landed beyond a walkway.
Slocum and Sheehan shot 66 on Saturday, while Cejka carded a 64.
Cejka birdied the 10th, 11th and 12th holes. He was at 13 under for the tournament after a birdie -- his eighth -- on No. 17 but bogeyed the par-4 18th.
Cejka's final tee shot hit a tree along the right side of the fairway and settled just beyond the rope. He lined his next shot between two trees, the ball rolling about 35 yards past the pin.
"I actually wanted to hit it just short of the green, but I hit it a little more solid and it was just a rocket," said Cejka, seeking his first PGA Tour victory.
He tied for second at the B.C. Open in 2003 and placed second at The International the following year. He shared the first-round lead with Steve Lowery at the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz., in February but tied for 53rd.
Cejka developed back spasms from jet skiing in June 2005, and he compounded matters by returning too soon.
"(I) Couldn't practice as hard and maybe was scared to practice hard and, even on the course, to swing through," he said. "I was struggling a little bit later in the year. But my health is well and I'm on the right track again."
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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