ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – A couple of yards were all the difference between a tight leaderboard at the Bay Hill Invitational and Rod Pampling taking charge with a four-shot lead Saturday.

From the first cut of rough on the left side of the fairway, Pampling took on the flag with a 4-iron and cleared the water by about two paces to set up a 3-foot birdie putt and complete a solid round of 5-under 67, leaving him in great position to capture his second PGA Tour title.

A ball in the water could have led to double bogey.

Instead, Pampling wound up at 14-under 202, giving him a large cushion in the final round against Lucas Glover (72), Greg Owen (67) and Darren Clarke, who tied three tournament records on his way to a 63.

“It was a perfect number,” said Pampling, who had 192 yards to the pin. “It was further right in the air than I wanted, but I wasn’t worried at all.”

Pampling, a 36-year-old from Australia, took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 sixth and spent the rest of the warm, sunny afternoon at Bay Hill Club trying to keep his position.

Clarke emerging as one of the challengers was a pleasant surprise.

Golf is no longer a priority for 37-year-old from Northern Ireland, whose wife is losing a long battle with cancer. He plays when he can, which has not been much this year, and never knows what to expect.

Toward the bottom of the pack when he began the third round, Clarke tied tournament records for six straight birdies, a 30 on the back nine and his 9-under 63, which matched the best score at Bay Hill since it converted to a par 72 in 1989. Where he goes from there is of little concern.

His wife, Heather, was first diagnosed with breast cancer, and it has spread throughout her body. She was thought to be near death last May, but continues to fight.

“She’s having a pretty tough battle at the minute,” Clarke said. “She had a couple of weeks of very intensive treatment two weeks ago for another situation, so she’s had a very tough time. But she’s battling hard.”

She wants him to play instead of sitting around the house, but it has taken its toll.

Clarke has played only five times this year, with his best finish a tie for seventh in Dubai. He lost in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, then withdrew after a 75 in the first round of Doral with a wrist problem.

“As you can see from my results, it’s affecting me quite a bit, which is normal. It’s bound to,” Clarke said. “My golf is not really at the top of my list. But at the same time, I’m not just going out to make up a number. I want to try and compete. It’s tough when the numbers aren’t coming that I want to shoot.

“It’s especially good to do that today.”

He might have been even closer to the lead except for Pampling’s strong play at the end of the round.

After dropping his only shot of the round on the 15th, Pampling’s tee shot on the par-5 16th flirted with the trees and bunker down the right side until drawing just enough to hop out of the first cut and into the fairway, setting up a birdie. Pampling saved par with a nifty chip behind the 17th green, then kept everyone in suspense with his approach on the 18th.

The safe shot is to the left side of the green, or at least well behind the hole. Pampling’s shot was on line with the flag, just reached the green and didn’t stop rolling until it was 3 feet away.

Now, an audience with tournament host Arnold Palmer on Sunday afternoon is up to him.

“I felt pressure coming to the last hole,” Pampling said. “All I was looking for was a par. But the way I hit the shot, it was a boost of confidence.”

Glover was the 36-hole leader and struggled to stay in the hunt. He lost his swing, but was pleased with the way he kept saving par, none bigger than a chip over the bunker, the length of the green and stopping to 2 feet.

“My short game kept me in it,” Glover said. “I had to make a bunch of 6- and 8-footers or I’d have shot 80.”

Jason Bohn shot a 68 and was at 9-under 207, while Sergio Garcia made a splash – hitting out of water that feeds into a bunker on the 17th to limit the damage to a bogey – and shot 70 to join the group at 208 that included former British Open champion Ben Curtis, Geoff Ogilvy and Robert Allenby.

Tiger Woods, a four-time winner at Bay Hill, either wins or is just another face in the crowd. This week is the latter, as he sputtered around to another 71 and was at 4-under 212, 10 shots behind. Ernie Els needed two late birdies for a 74 and was another two shots back.

Divots: Even though only 73 players made the cut, the third round was played in threesomes. Tournament official Mark Russell said Bay Hill gets a better flow of play with threesomes instead of twosomes because of the par 5s, two of which are followed by tough par 3s. … Sergio Garcia was walking off the fifth green when a female shouted out to him, “Sergio, where are you going to be tonight?” That’s not unusual – Garcia is known to attract his share of female fans. But this came from a heavyset woman in her late 50s. Garcia looked over when she called out his name a second time and said with a smile, “Who?” … Greg Owen bought a house down the street from Bay Hill as an investment, before he earned his PGA Tour card. He has been introduced at PGA Tour events all year as being from Windermere, Fla. But at the Bay Hill Invitational, they introduced him from Mansfield, England.

AP-ES-03-18-06 1902EST