FORT WORTH, Texas — Eric Cole put himself in position for another shot at his first PGA Tour victory, shooting a season-best 7-under 63 on Saturday to take the third-round lead in the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial.Cole matched the best round of the tournament to get to 12-under 198, a stroke ahead of Ryan Gerard after he finished a round of 68 with back-to-back birdies. Mac Meissner (67) and reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun (68) were two strokes back. After four birdies in his first eight holes, Cole added two more through 11 holes on a 90-degree day at Hogan’s Alley, which firmed up in that heat after rain earlier in the week. His only bogey was sandwiched by birdies on the back nine.Spaun birdied with a blast out of a greenside bunker at the 428-yard 15th hole, which came after bogeys on two of his previous three holes. PGA Tour rookie Jordan Smith, who entered the day leading at 10 under with a one-stroke lead, had four bogeys without a birdie in a round of 4-over 74 to drop to a tie for 19th place. He had three consecutive bogeys at Nos. 5 through 7 after only one bogey in his first 40 holes before that. This is the 120th PGA start for the 37-year-old Cole, whose parents were both former professional players. His mother, Laura Baugh, was the LPGA’s rookie of the year in 1973 and had 70 top-10 finishes over a 25-year LPGA career. Bobby Cole was a native of South Africa whose only PGA Tour victory came in 1977 at Flint Elks Club in Michigan.Cole, who will be going for a …
