KAPALUA, Maui » As defending champion Geoff Ogilvy exited the media room, he crossed paths with third-round leader Lucas Glover. They stopped for a moment, shook hands and exchanged some quick pleasantries.

“;Good luck, mate,”; Ogilvy said. Glover gave a slight nod and said, “;Thanks, man, see you tomorrow.”;

There are several golfers who could track down the top two men on the leaderboard of the SBS Championship, but you get the feeling one of these two PGA Tour veterans will walk away with the grand prize today.

Glover overcame another day of front-nine blues with three big birdies on the back en route to a 2-under 71 to overtake Ogilvy, who briefly grabbed the lead after shooting a third-round 68 for a 54-hole total of 16-under 203.

Glover's closing birdie at the 18th gave him a three-day total of 17-under 202 to guarantee a final pairing for both as they try to hold off eight other golfers within four shots of the lead. Ogilvy made his move last year on Saturday en route to a six-shot victory and did more of the same yesterday, even though the shifting wind was no friend.

“;It was an awkward day because it wasn't a true Kona wind,”; Ogilvy said. “;Awkward because 90 percent of the rounds I played here the wind generally stays in the same place all day. So you are used to playing every hole the same. It just wasn't like that today.”;

The Aussie began his round trailing Glover by four shots, but caught him at the turn and took the lead with a birdie at the 12th, only to surrender it with a bogey at the 16th. Glover broke the tie with a birdie at the last and believes the momentum he gained on the back nine will serve him well today.

“;Anytime you tee it up, to win is the goal,”; Glover said. “;Having an opportunity is a great thing. If I executed and did the right thing, I could make some birdies. A few holes I did. A few holes I didn't.

“;I brought it back strong and got some momentum for tomorrow. I'm not too upset about it. I knew it would tighten up today, guys will play well, some guys didn't, and that happened to me. Nothing I wasn't expecting.”;

Not that this is a match-play event. Plantation Course first-timers Martin Laird (69—204) and Ryan Moore (68—205) are right there, as are Retief Goosen (67—206), British Open champ Stewart Cink (69—206), Masters winner Angel Cabrera (70—206), Matt Kuchar (71—206), Sean O'Hair (71—206) and John Rollins (72—206).

Glover helped turn this event into a shootout by going 1 over on the front, thanks in part to back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 7 and 8. He righted the ship a bit with a birdie at nine, but birdies at Nos. 14, 16 and 18 were the ones that gave him a little breathing room.

“;I'm obviously happy to finish with three birdies,”; Glover said. “;The rough start was mainly the putter. Speed was bad all day. We will get it worked out in the morning and be ready to roll.”;

The West Maui breezes returned yesterday in full regalia, starting off as Kona winds in the morning, but shifting to the more traditional trades by the middle of the afternoon. That helped the guys playing later in the day, especially on Nos. 17 and 18. No one was reaching the green in two in the early going, but as the wind shifted around to the northeast, suddenly getting there in two wasn't as daunting.

No one managed an eagle on 18, but Laird came close with two beautiful shots that left him with a 9-footer and a chance, at that point, to tie for the lead. But it wasn't meant to be, as the putt grazed the right side of the hole. The Scot settled for birdie and is only two shots off the pace.

“;I burned the right edge,”; Laird said. “;I just misread it.”;

As for Glover, he will try to become the second player to go wire-to-wire since this event moved here in 1999. The last person to do it? Well, that would be Ogilvy, who is trying to match a little history of his own by becoming the first golfer to win back-to-back championships on Maui since fellow Down Under lad Stuart Appleby turned the trick five years ago.