Byrd leads Wells Fargo, Phil fades

Jonathan Byrd lived up to his surname Saturday in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C.

In the mix with a half-dozen other players trying to keep in range of Pat Perez, Byrd ran off five birdies in six holes to start the back nine and finished with a 5-under-par 67 to take a one-shot lead into the final round.

Byrd was at 15-under 201 and will try to win for the third time in the last seven months on the PGA Tour.

"I don't know if I'm going to win," Byrd said. "But I'm playing good enough to win.

Perez had a hard-fought 70, missing fairways early in the round and rarely converting birdie chances throughout the back nine until a slight mistake turned into his best-looking shot. Taking a little off a 7-iron, he pulled it slightly on the 17th and saw it sail right at the flag and stop some 5 feet behind the pin for a birdie.

Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover (69) and former British Open champion Stewart Cink (68), who have not won since capturing their majors in the summer of 2009, were three shots back.

The top eight players were separated by five shots, which isn't much at Quail Hollow.

Missing from the mix is Mickelson. The three-time Masters champion was in range and was poised to make a move with a brilliant par save on the 12th, a mini-flop from a downhill lie to a green that ran away and broke sharply to the left. It stopped inches away.

But he flubbed a bunker shot on the 14th to lose an easy chance at birdie, then hit tee shots into the water on the par-5 15th (bogey) and the par-3 17th (double bogey) on his way to a 74. Mickelson has hit five balls in the water this week.

Aiken leads in SpainThomas Aiken maintained his lead after a somber third day of the Spanish Open overshadowed by the death of golf great Seve Ballesteros. The South African shot par 72 for an 8-under total of 208, two shots ahead of a group of four players. A moment of silence was held for Ballesteros at El Prat course near Barcelona. Afterward, Spanish golfers Jose Maria Olazabal and Miguel Angel Jimenez embraced in tears, mourning the loss of their countryman.

"Seve's charisma is an inspiration for all of us," Aiken said. "He played with passion and determination. We must put things in perspective in order to value everything he did for golf. Seve will somehow never die."

Calcavecchia leads seniors

Mark Calcavecchia gave away nearly all of his big lead in the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala., setting up a tight final round at Shoal Creek.

Calcavecchia shot 1-under 71 in the Champions Tour major, faltering with a double bogey and two bogeys on the final eight holes. He finished at 12-under 204 for a one-stroke lead over Jay Haas, who shot a 68. Haas' son, Bill, is contending at the PGA Tour's Wells Fargo Championship. Tom Pernice Jr. three-putted the last hole for double bogey to drop two shots back, along with Tom Lehman. Both shot 68s.-- AP