GRAND BLANC, Mich. - Tom Pernice Jr. was having a mediocre round until surprising himself with a spectacular stretch that pushed his name atop a shuffled leaderboard.

Pernice had an eagle and four birdies during a five-hole run and his 66 Saturday gave him the third-round lead at the topsy-turvy Buick Open.

“The way I was going along, I never dreamed I would get to 6 under,” he said. “Being patient pays off sometimes.”

Jesper Parnevik (64), Scott Verplank (69) and Brian Bateman (69) were a shot back entering the final round.

Former Buick Open champions Jim Furyk (71), Kenny Perry (71) and Woody Austin (69) were in a group of five players two strokes behind the leader. Pernice and Verplank have also won at Warwick Hills, where a $882,000 check is truly up for grabs without regulars Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh around to dominate.

Woods (with his wife and baby) and Singh (resting a sore elbow) are not playing the Buick Open for the first time since 2001 after combining to win four of the previous five.

After playing the first 12 holes even par, Pernice eagled No. 13 then ripped off four straight birdies before finishing with a par.