VIRGINIA WATER (England), May 28: Britain's David Howell maintained his three-shot lead in the PGA Championship after Saturday's third round.

But the round of the day in more bad weather at Wentworth drew Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez up to second place.

Howell shot a three-under-par 69 to move to 14-under-par 202, with Jimenez carding a flawless 65.

The Spaniard made light of heavy rain which caused much of the rest of the field problems.

Two more Britons, Paul Casey and Simon Khan, share third place, six strokes off the lead.

202 – David Howell (Britain) 68, 65, 69.

205 – Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 71, 69, 65.

208 – Paul Casey (Britain) 67, 72, 69; Simon Khan (Britain) 70, 68, 70.

210 – Francois Delamontagne (France) 69, 70, 71; Nick Dougherty (Britain) 67, 69, 74; Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 72, 70, 68; Jean Van de Velde (France) 75, 69, 66.

211 – Niclas Fasth (Sweden) 70, 70, 71; Soren Hansen (Denmark) 70, 72, 69; Robert Karlsson (Sweden) 69, 68, 74.212 – Richard Bland (Britain) 73, 68, 71; Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 68, 69, 75; Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 70, 72, 70; Andrew Coltart (Britain) 71, 72, 69; Ernie Els (South Africa) 69, 74, 69; Garry Houston (Britain) 69, 72, 71; Nick O'Hern (Australia) 72, 72, 68; Wade Ormsby (Australia) 74, 69, 69.

HERRON EYES 2ND TITLE

MEMPHIS (Tennessee): Tim Herron survived a scrambling finish to stay in the hunt for a second successive PGA Tour victory after the St Jude Classic third round on Saturday.

The 36-year-old American, who won last week's Colonial tournament in a playoff, fired a two-under-par 68 to end a blustery day tied for the lead with compatriot Tom Pernice junior.

Pernice picked up shots at two of the last five holes for matching 68s as the pair finished level on seven-under 203 at the TPC at Southwind.

Herron, who ended a seven-year title drought at the Colonial, birdied four of the first nine holes to forge three strokes clear before losing momentum after the turn.

Leading third round scores:

203 – Tim Herron (US) 70, 65, 68; Tom Pernice Jr (US) 67, 68, 68.

204 – Kris Cox (US) 74, 67, 63.

205 – Jay Delsing (US) 70, 69, 66; John Cook (US) 69, 69, 67.

206 – Jeff Maggert (US) 72, 66, 68; Ryan Palmer (US) 69, 68, 69.

207 – Briny Baird (US) 71, 68, 68; Nick Price (Zimbabwe) 68, 70, 69; Camilo Villegas (Colombia) 70, 66, 71.

208 – Justin Leonard (US) 72, 69, 67; John Senden (Australia) 73, 65, 70; David Toms (US) 69, 67, 72; Brian Gay (US) 69, 67, 72.

209 – Zach Johnson (US) 68, 71, 70; Michael Allen (US) 70, 69, 70; Dan Forsman (US) 69, 68, 72.

STRANGE TRIUMPHS

MANILA: Australian Scott Strange decisively won the Philippine Open with a five-shot victory on Sunday to hand him his second Asian Tour title.

Strange had only a one-shot lead going into the final round, but carded four birdies to finish clear of Korean rookie Park Jun-Won and record the best winning margin on the Asian Tour so far this season.

The 29-year-old also carded four bogeys but ended the day with a two-under-par 70 for a four-day total of 280.

He received a $31,700 winner’s cheque.

Park carded a five-under-par 67 on the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club's East course for a total of 285.

Taiwan's Yeh Chang-ting, compatriot Lu Wei-lan and Chris Rodgers of England tied for third with 286.

Leading final round scores:

280 – Scott Strange (Australia) 68, 70, 72, 70.285 – Park Jun-won (South Korea) 75, 74, 69, 67.

286 – Chris Rodgers (Britain) 70, 69, 75, 72; Lu Wei-lan (Taiwan) 69, 74, 72, 71; Yeh Chang-ting (Taiwan) 69, 69, 73, 75.

288 – Juvic Pagunsan (Philippines) 72, 70, 74, 72; Unho Park (Australia) 72, 71, 73, 72.289 – Jason Dawes (Australia) 70, 75, 74, 70; Gary Simpson (Australia) 71, 72, 74, 72; Hsieh Chin-sheng (Taiwan) 71, 73, 71, 74; Cookie Lao (Philippines) 70, 74, 70, 75.

290 – Gerald Rosales (Philippines) 73, 72, 74, 71; S.S.P. Chowrasia (India) 74, 72, 71, 73; Adam Porker (Australia) 73, 72, 71, 74.—Agencies