SILVIS, Ill. — Kenny Perry can't figure it out, either.

The new putter? That seems to be helping. His surgically repaired knee? It feels fine, after he rushed back two years ago.

New equipment and better health aside, he can't explain why he's playing this well.

"If I knew the answer, I'd have done this 20 years ago," Perry, 47, said. "It's just going my way right now."

Perry finished with a flourish to move into a three-way tie for the lead through three rounds at the John Deere Classic yesterday.

Perry, seeking his third victory in five starts, birdied the 18th hole to finish at 4-under 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.

Hawai'i's Dean Wilson, a Castle High alum who started the third round six shots off the pace, struggled to 5-over 76 and is 13 behind at 211.

Parker McLachlin, a Punahou alum, shot 73 and is at 212.

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

That drew oohs and aahs from the crowd and even a "You the man!" from one spectator. Perry then buried the putt to complete the birdie on the par-4 hole and pull even with Axley and Adamonis.

"They may have some anxiety," Perry said. "I'm not. I'm very relaxed. I'm enjoying the ride, I'm enjoying the walk. If it goes my way, great. If it doesn't, I really don't worry too much about it. It's been awesome how I've played this year. It's been so much fun."

Axley won the Valero Texas Open in 2006, while Adamonis is seeking his first victory. Now, they're at the top of a jammed leaderboard with Perry.

"I'm just not really going to pay attention to it," Adamonis said.

Axley said: "I think it's going to take a lot of birdies tomorrow. ... If somebody makes more than me, then I did the best I can do."

The 41-year-old Williamson converted eight plus an eagle while making the biggest move with a 9-under round.

Five strokes off the lead when the day began, he jumped into contention for his first PGA Tour win with a strong start and an astounding 7-under 29 on the back nine.

He started his big move on the par-5 10th hole, when his 112-yard approach dropped into the cup for an eagle. He birdied four of the next five holes to go 13-under, and ended the round with a 26-foot birdie putt.

Williamson pumped his fist and left the course tied for first. Although the lead didn't last, he certainly is in a better mood than when he was after he arrived on Tuesday. He saw that he is 158th in the FedEx Cup standings and cringed.

"It frustrated me, and it also was a kick in the pants," he said. "Again, I haven't done anything yet. ... The fact of the matter is I've got to go out tomorrow and perform."

LPGA

CREAMER COOLS OFF, BUT STILL LEADS FARR BY FOUR

SYLVANIA, Ohio — Paula Creamer is finding out how hard it is to win while leading from start to finish on the LPGA Tour.

The rest of the field is discovering how hard it is to catch her.

Creamer shot a 1-under 70 yesterday, 10 more shots than she needed in the first round, but still held a four-stroke lead after three rounds of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

"You know, winning wire-to-wire — that's difficult to do," said Creamer, who stands at 18-under 195 through 54 holes at Highland Meadows. "There's a lot of pressure on you in that situation, especially when you shoot a 60 the first day and anything higher than that everybody thinks, 'What's going on? What's wrong?' "

South Korea's Eun-Hee Ji was in second place looking up at Creamer, as she has been after all three rounds. She shot a 68 to cut two strokes off Creamer's lead but wasn't pleased with her own play.

"Today you could see that Paula didn't have her best day, but at the same time I wasn't really having my A game as well," Ji said through an interpreter.

Ji could easily have made an even bigger dent in the lead. She cut it to three strokes when she birdied the 11th hole while Creamer, playing in the same group, was three-putting for a bogey. Creamer recovered with birdies at the 13th and 17th holes. Ji was 1 under for the final seven holes and missed two short birdie putts that could have drawn her closer.

Ji, playing her first full year on the tour, missed a 10-footer at No. 16. Then, moments after Creamer saved par with a 7-foot putt at the closing hole, Ji missed a 6-footer for birdie.

Michelle Wie, a Punahou alum, shot a 71 and was tied for 54th at 213.

Creamer said she was fortunate to still have such a big lead.

The 21-year-old Californian, who set the course record with her opening 60, had a 65 in the second round during which she said she hit three or four "terrible" shots. She called her wedge from 80 yards out on the final hole "awful."

"Obviously I wasn't very pleased with the way I played today," she said. "But at the same time I have a pretty significant lead going into tomorrow."

Creamer said she would try to forget about the 72-hole tournament record (23-under, by five-time winner Se Ri Pak) or the pressures of winning wire-to-wire.

"I'm just going to play it like we are both even, like it's a one-day tournament," she said.

Rachel Hetherington, winner of the Farr in 2002, had a 67 and was alone in third at 202.

"It's tough to gain much when everybody is playing well and birdieing," Hetherington said. "You need to shoot an exceptional score, like Karrie Webb did today, shooting 9 under. You're going to jump a lot of places."

EUROPEAN PGA

MICKELSON SIX BEHIND LEADERS IN SCOTTISH OPEN

LUSS, Scotland — Graeme McDowell and Simon Khan shared the Scottish Open lead and Phil Mickelson was six shots back after the third round yesterday.

McDowell shot a 5-under 66 and Khan a 68 to take a one-stroke lead. Both bogeyed the short 17th hole at Loch Lomond, but McDowell birdied the last to draw even with Khan at 10-under 203.

Mickelson had five birdies and five bogeys for a 71 a day after his hole-in-one helped him make the cut.

Four players were at 204, including last week's winner of the European Open, Ross Fisher (68). The others were Miguel-Angel Jimenez (68), Jeev Milka Singh (69) and Richard Green (70).

Adam Scott had a 68 and was three behind at 206 for a share of seventh place.

Ernie Els shot 70 for 208 and a share of 19th, while Mickelson, who played with Els, was at 209 for a share of 24th.