FORT WORTH, Texas, May 24 (UPI) -- Kenny Perry stepped into the void left by the absence of Annika Sorenstam and almost made some golfing history of his own Saturday.
Perry birdied six of his first nine holes en route to a course record-tying 9-under-par 61 and an eight-stroke lead after the third round of the Bank of America Colonial.
Sorenstam put her name in sports lore by becoming the second woman in history and first since 1945 to play in a PGA Tour event. But she missed the cut by four shots after firing a 74 Friday.
With the Swedish star out of the event, thousands of fans and hundreds of media members disappeared.
"It was nice and quiet," said Justin Leonard, a native of nearby Dallas. "There was no traffic getting in here this morning at 7 a.m. This is a little more what I'm used to."
Perry, however, forced the spotlight to shine his way with a round that could easily have been the fourth 59 in PGA Tour history.
A 17-year veteran seeking his fifth career title, Perry shared the 36-hole lead with good friend Dan Forsman, but he opened and closed the front nine with a string of three straight birdies to build a five-stroke lead.
With a 29 on the front side, Perry matched the second-best nine-hole total in tournament history, a stroke off the mark Wayne Levi set in 1993.
His 61 tied Keith Clearwater, Lee Janzen (1993) and Greg Kraft (1999) for the lowest ever at the Colonial. At 17-under 193, he also broke by a shot the 54-hole tournament mark held by Scott Simpson and David Ogrin (1997).
It could have been even better. Perry left a long birdie putt at the 12th an inch short of the hole and had makeable birdie efforts at both the 16th and 18th.
Perry had three birdies on the back side as he easily pulled away from the field. First-round leader Rory Sabbatini of South Africa was second at 9-under 201.
Following three benign days at Colonial Country Club, it appears only those infamous winds can bring the rest of the field back into contention.
No one ever has blown a 54-hole lead of more than seven strokes at the Colonial. Nick Price rallied from seven shots down to win in 1994.
Jim Furyk was third at 8-under 202, a stroke ahead of Hal Sutton, Stewart Cink and Jeff Sluman.
Sutton rode an ace at the 16th hole to a 65, matching the second-best round of the day.
