Consistent Romero takes Champions lead in Endicott

Then came the shot of the day. Lying 130 yards from the pin at the par-4 ninth hole, Sindelar used pitching wedge to hit a soaring shot that headed straight for the flag.

"It felt very good to me," Sindelar said. "(Caddie) John (Buchna) goes, 'Did you get it?' And I said, 'Yeah, right on the money.' Then he goes, 'Then it ought to be good.'"

It was. The ball landed 5 feet past the flag and spun back into the cup, eliciting a huge ovation from the crowd. And when Ozaki's birdie try stopped an inch short and Romero mishit a 4-footer for birdie, Sindelar was tied for the lead.

Black, playing in only his second Champions Tour event, moved into contention with four birdies on the front side. He got to 11 under with a 24-foot birdie putt at the par-4 11th and gained a one-shot lead with another birdie at the par-5 12th hole, recovering nicely after plunking his second shot into a greenside bunker. Moments later, Romero birdied the hole to tie him.

With a massive water hazard lining the left side of the fairway all the way to the green, the 15th is usually the toughest hole on the course and is ranked the 12th most difficult on the Champions Tour. On this day, it was playing under par when the leaders came through, and they continued the trend.

Ozaki, who bogeyed No. 10, made it back to 11 under with a tap-in birdie. Sindelar then recovered from an errant tee shot that landed behind two oak trees along the right side, hitting his second shot through some branches to 12 feet. After Romero drained a curling 27-foot birdie putt to take sole possession of the lead at 13 under, Sindelar sank his putt to remain one back.

Romero birdied 16 and two-putted for par from 86 feet at the par-3 17th hole, but Sindelar continued to apply the pressure. He made a tap-in birdie at 17 after his tee shot stopped less than 2 inches from the hole.

Like Romero, Sindelar was wary when he pondered Sunday's final round.

"If the conditions are this good again -- we have no wind -- it's almost darts," Sindelar said. "Eduardo knows full well his job isn't over. He's just going to have to play ball, and so will the rest of us. We can't be caught looking at each other like it's our own little card game."

Divots

• Andy Bean and Phil Blackmoor each eagled the par-5 fifth hole, the first two eagles of the tournament.
• Gary Koch (67), playing just his fifth tournament of the year because of broadcasting commitments to NBC, was at 9 under. Koch is vying for a spot in the Senior British Open in two weeks and needs a big payday here to qualify.