Overnight leader Kenny Perry shot a two-under-par 70 to remain clear of the Memorial Tournament field as he bids to win for the second week running.
The 42-year-old, who cruised to victory at last week's Colonial, stands on 13-under 203 after three rounds and leads two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen (71) by two strokes.
Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal shot the low round of the day (66) in blustery conditions to move into a tie for third on eight-under 208 with Fiji's Vijay Singh (72) and South African Retief Goosen (74).
However, it wasn't such a good day for three-time Memorial winner and world number one Tiger Woods who could only card a four-over-par 76 to slip back into a tie for 16th at two-under. Woods is playing his first event on the PGA Tour since last month's Masters as he restricts his playing schedule to help recover from knee surgery in December.
Leading by a single shot, Perry began his round with 11 straight pars before birdies at the par-three 12th and par-four 14th hole. He then bogeyed the par-three 16th - his first lapse since the opening hole of the first round - but a birdie at the last restored his two-shot cushion.
Perry is seeking his second victory at this event after winning it in 1991 and also stands to become the 39th back-to-back winner on the PGA Tour.
"That was probably better than my 61 I shot last week at Colonial," Perry said. "The conditions were just brutal out there. It was so raw, the wind was blowing so hard. It was hard to choose clubs."
"After I won last week, I wanted to see if I could somehow climb the next step and get my game to another level," Perry said. "It would mean the world to me. I love winning at historic places."
Padraig Harrington scored a third round 73 and dropped back to two under, but given the difficult conditions, the Dubliner is still tied for 16th going into the final round.