Perry ties for lead at Deere

Kenny Perry finished with a flourish to move into a three-way tie for the lead through three rounds at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill., on Saturday.

Perry, seeking his third victory in five starts, birdied the 18th hole to finish at 4-under-par 67 for the day and 15-under 198 for the tournament. That tied him with Eric Axley (67) and Brad Adamonis (66), who at 35 is the PGA Tour’s oldest rookie.

Jay Williamson (62) and second-round leader Will MacKenzie (70) were one stroke back.

Perry was at 15 under after sinking a 9-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th before hitting trouble on the 15th, hitting rough off the tee and two-putting from nine feet for a bogey. He made up for it on the 18th, when his approach nearly hit the pin before settling just less than 6 feet to its left.

Perry then buried the putt to complete the birdie on the par-4 hole and pull even with Axley and Adamonis.

LPGA

Paula Creamer shot a 1-under 70, 10 more shots than she needed for her first round, and held a four-stroke lead after three rounds of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.

Creamer, who set the course record with her opening 60, was at 18-under 195 through 54 holes at Highland Meadows. The 21-year-old Californian had a 65 in the second round.

South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji remained in second place. She shot a 68 to cut two strokes off of Creamer’s lead.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., was at 213 after shooting a 72.

Celebrity golf

Six-time champion Rick Rhoden was back in a familiar place in the lead at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe, Nev.

Rhoden, a former pitcher, shot a 72 to push his two-day total to 45 points in the modified Stableford scoring system that awards six points for eagle, three for birdie, one for par, none for bogey and minus 2 for double bogey or worse.

Tony Romo took a spill in a pond on the first hole after losing his footing, but rebounded to shoot a 73 and move into second place while his girlfriend, actress-singer Jessica Simpson, watched from the gallery.

Ex-hockey star Pierre Larouche was next at 41, followed by a group at 39 that included NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, NHL all-star Jeremy Roenick, four-time tourney champion Dan Quinn and former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien of Spokane, who won the inaugural event in 1990.

Rhoden said he’s looking forward to playing today’s final round with Romo.

“There’s a lot of people following him. There’s a lot of people following his girlfriend,” Rhoden said.