MILWAUKEE – Brett Quigley wants to believe his father will be rooting for him to win his first PGA Tour event, even if it’s under his breath.

Paul Quigley is caddying for fellow Rhode Islander Brad Faxon this week at the U.S. Bank Championship, where his son is tied with Carlos Franco and Patrick Sheehan atop the leaderboard after 54 holes at 10-under 200.

“I hope his loyalty’s with me,” Brett Quigley said after carding the day’s best round at 6-under-par 64 Saturday. “I love Brad and I hope he does well. But you never know.”

Defending champion Kenny Perry (65) is one shot back after birdies on the final four holes, and Jason Dufner (68) and Scott Verplank (67) are two shots behind the leaders.

Franco shot a 69 and Sheehan a 67. There are 22 golfers within five shots of the lead, and another five, including Faxon, are six shot back.

Growing up, Faxon caddied for Paul Quigley, whom he called Monday after getting back from the British Open, and asked to caddie for him at Brown Deer Park. Quigley’s father, in turn, called his son to see if he could room with him in Milwaukee.

Brett Quigley caddied for his dad three weeks ago in a qualifier for the U.S. Senior Open in St. Louis, where his father will either play (he’s an alternate) or caddie for his brother, Dana Quigley. Brett caddied for his uncle when Dana Quigley fired a 61 at the 1982 Greater Hartford Open.

“There’s certainly a lot of caddies in my family,” Brett Quigley said.

And they’ll have quite a story to tell if Quigley can earn his first win on Tour.

That’s something Sheehan also is seeking. “I’m sure I’ll be nervous tomorrow,” Sheehan said. “But there’s 25 guys that can win this.”

The trio of co-leaders have precious little experience at taking a lead into the final round of a tournament. Franco and Quigley have done it once and Sheehan never has.

Sheehan honed his game in his hometown of Providence, R.I., and Quigley plays out of Rhode Island Country Club in nearby Barrington, R.I. – where Faxon was born.

There’s a reason for the Rhode Island flavor at Brown Deer Park, a wooded public course with rugged rough that is one of the shortest on Tour at 6,759 yards with a mild par-70 layout – it’s every bit like the courses Sheehan, Faxon and Quigley played growing up.

“Everybody’s at home right now,” Sheehan said. “This is what we grew up on.”

Franco, the second-round leader, would have had the 54-hole lead to himself had he not bogeyed the 18th hole, missing a 35-foot putt to save par.

“It’s important today that I don’t play good and I still shoot under par,” said the Paraguayan who won here in 1999 when the tournament was known as the Greater Milwaukee Open. “I think maybe that gives me confidence to come back tomorrow stronger.”

Franco, who saved par on 17 when he sank a 21-foot putt after chipping backward out of thick rough to set up his iron shot onto the green, would be the seventh-two time winner in Milwaukee. His other PGA Tour wins came at the COMPAQ Classic of New Orleans in 1999 and 2000. In 2000, he also led after 54 holes.

Quigley’s best career finish is a tie for second at the 2001 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic, and Sheehan’s best was a tie for third at this year’s MCI Heritage in April.

Perry, still bleary-eyed after playing in the British Open last weekend, wasn’t afraid to adjust his game midcourse when he got frustrated with his poor putting, which he blamed on a lack of concentration due to jet lag.

Doolan wins Evian Masters by a stroke

EVIAN, France – Wendy Doolan shot a 7-under 65 in the final round of the Evian Masters on Saturday to beat top-ranked Annika Sorenstam by a stroke and collect the biggest check of her career.

Doolan finished at 18-under 270 to earn the $375,000 winner’s check for the third title of her nine-year career.

She surged to the lead with a five-hole stretch during which she had three birdies and two eagles.

“That’s a lot of birdies and eagles right there,” Doolan said of her run on Nos. 6-10. “I’m going to cherish this because I wouldn’t be surprised if it never happens again.”

Doolan went from six strokes behind Sorenstam with 12 holes to play, to three strokes ahead with three to play.

“I just knew I had it in me to make a lot of birdies on this course,” Doolan said. “This means what I’m doing is working for me.”

The winner’s check is more than Doolan has earned in any season in her career besides 2001, when she won a total of $405,103. But Doolan had no plan to celebrate.

“I’ll be following my usual routine before next week’s British Open. Nothing different,” she said.

Sorenstam, who entered the day with a three-stroke lead, played the first 15 holes in 2 over.

Lonard overcomes mid-round blip

DROGHEDA, Ireland – Peter Lonard overcame two rough holes midway through the Irish Open’s third round Saturday to shoot an even-par 72 and lead by one stroke.

Lonard was at 10-under 206. Another Australian, Brett Rumford, was at 207 after a 70, with James Kingston of South Africa another shot back in third after a 72.

The leader triple-bogeyed the 175-yard, par-3 seventh, then three-putted the 421-yard, par-4 eighth for a bogey. But two earlier birdies and two later birdies rescued him.

Lonard, who also plays the U.S. tour and has a home in Orlando, Fla., said that apart from his tee shot at the seventh, “I was pretty much in control of the whole deal.”

“You have to play the par-3s well, and obviously with a triple bogey at seven, I didn’t,” he added. “But that was the first shot I miss-hit, and after that I played nicely and gave myself chances.”

On No. 7, his 4-iron into the wind finished in the rough at the base of a hill. His first chip came up short and rolled back down the hill. Next he chipped to 40 feet and then needed two putts.

Rumford opened with a bogey and three-putted the par-5 sixth for par, but he had three birdies. The wind was the strongest of the week.

“You have to grind it out over the whole 18,” Rumford said. “You have to hit the fairways from where you can control the spin.”

Australian makes history with 2 aces at same hole

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Graham Marsh became the first player on the four main golf tours to ace the same hole twice in a tournament when he had a hole-in-one on No. 11 at the Senior British Open on Saturday.

No player on the PGA, Champions, European or Senior European tours had ever accomplished the feat before, tournament officials said.

Marsh holed a 9-iron at the 170-yard hole Thursday, then had another ace with an 8-iron on Saturday.

Marsh’s reward for his rare accomplishment? Three hundred and 40 bottles of Australian wine, one for each yard of every hole he aced.

“There’s no better prize I could have been given, being a wine connoisseur,” he said. “This could just about take me out of professional golf. It’s a freaky situation.”

One local oddsmakers put the chances of acing the same hole twice at 40,000-1. Even with his mastery of the 11th hole, Marsh is well off the lead at 5-over par after three rounds.