NORTON, Mass. (AP) - With an orange ribbon on his hat and nine birdies on his card, Matt Kuchar pulled within a shot of the lead Saturday in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Not that he needed a reminder, but a message posted on the scoring table spoke to his emotions.
Players were offered a chance to donate to a trust fund for the 4-year-old daughter of Lance Bennett, his caddie. Bennett's wife, Angela, died of a seizure Wednesday. Kuchar decided to play to raise awareness and get the tour involved in helping the family.
His performance certainly helped.
Ryan Palmer overcame a rocky start for an even-par 71. Jason Day struggled at the end for a 68. They were tied for the lead on the TPC Boston going into the third round of a FedEx Cup playoff event that ends on Labor Day.
Kuchar was a shot behind after a 66 that featured six consecutive birdies around the turn. On his bag is Brian Reed, a friend who introduced Kuchar to Bennett several years ago.
Kuchar was overcome by emotion Friday when he saw caddies - and even some players - wearing a black hat with the orange ribbon in honor of Bennett's wife.
Palmer, who started with a 63, made birdie on his first hole and thought he was off to the races. He followed with a double bogey, a bogey and then tried to hang. A birdie on the final hole put him at 8-under 134.
Day looked as though he might pull away. Day ran off five birdies on the front nine for a 31 to build a two-shot lead, only to drop four shots coming in.
Billy Horschel had a 66 to join Kuchar at 7-under 135.
PORTLAND CLASSIC
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Defending champion Suzann Pettersen shot her second straight 5-under 67 for a share of the third-round lead in the LPGA Tour's Portland Classic.
Trying to match Nancy Lopez's record with her third victory in the event, Pettersen had an eagle, four birdies and a bogey at Columbia Edgewater. The fourth-ranked Norwegian star is winless this season after winning four times last year to push her career total to 14.
Spain's Carlota Ciganda and South Korea's Mi Jung Hur shot 70 to match Pettersen at 11-under 205. Ciganda bogeyed the par-4 18th to fall into the tie.
South Korea's So Yeon Ryu and I.K. Kim and China's Hi Yu Lin were a stroke back. Ryu, the Canadian Women's Open winner last week, and Lin shot 70. Kim, the leader after each of the first two rounds, had a 74.
SHAW CHARITY CLASSIC
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - Bob Tway shot a 7-under 63 for a share of the second-round lead with Joe Durant and Joe Daley in the Champions Tour's Shaw Charity Classic.
Durant and Daley shot 68 to match Tway at 10-under 130 at Canyon Meadows.
The 55-year-old Tway is winless on the Champions Tour after winning eight times on the PGA Tour, including the 1986 PGA Championship. He had an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys.
Gary Hallberg, Mark McNulty and David Frost were 9 under. Hallberg shot 65, McNulty 66, and Frost 68. Bernhard Langer, the tour leader with five victories this season, topped the group at 8 under after a 65.
Tom Pernice Jr. and Bart Bryant, tied for the first-round lead after matching the course record of 62, struggled in the second round. Pernice had a 70 to drop into a tie for seventh at 8 under, and Bryant shot 71 to finish at 7 under.
HOTEL FITNESS CHAMPIONSHIP
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - Colt Knost shot his third straight 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead in the Hotel Fitness Championship, the first event in the Web.com Tour Finals.
Knost, the 29-year-old former SMU player who won the 2007 U.S. Amateur, had three birdies and eagled the par-5 12th at Sycamore Hills to reach 15 under. He was fourth last week in the Portland Open to finish 34th on the Web.com Tour's regular-season money list.
Nos. 26-75 on Web.com money list and Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings are fighting for 25 2014-15 PGA Tour cards based on earnings in the four-event series.
The top 25 players on the Web.com money list earned PGA Tour cards last week. They are competing against each other for PGA Tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals and the final leader getting a spot in The Players Championship.
Second-round leader Sam Saunders and England's Greg Owen were a stroke back. Saunders, Arnold Palmer's grandson, had a 70, and Owen shot 68. Saunders finished 45th on the Web.com money list, and Owen was 27th.
ITALIAN OPEN
TURIN, Italy (AP) - South Africa's Hennie Otto shot a 1-under 71 to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Italian Open.
Otto, the 2008 winner at Castello di Tolcinasco, had 16-under 200 total at Circolo Golf Torino. He's playing his second event following two back operations.
Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, needing a top-two finish to earn the final automatic spot on the European Ryder Cup team, was sixth at 10 under after a 69.
Scotland's Richie Ramsay was second after a 66.