Senden takes over spotlight with Wie gone
John Senden took the lead and the attention at the John Deere Classic on Saturday, one day after Michelle Wie withdrew because of heat exhaustion in Silvis, Ill.
With temperatures in the low 90s, Senden shot a 7-under-par 64 to reach 16 under.
Heath Slocum and Patrick Sheehan were three back at 13 under after 66s. Second-round leader Joe Ogilvie (69), Alex Cejka (64), Steve Jones (66), J.P. Hayes (66) and Daniel Chopra (68) were 12 under.
LPGA
Natalie Gulbis birdied her final hole to pull into a three-way tie for the lead before play was suspended late in the third round of the storm-plagued Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
Gulbis, seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, birdied the par-5 17th to tie Reilley Rankin and Mi Hyun Kim at 12 under. Kim also birdied the 17th just before play was stopped, while Rankin completed 16 holes.
Play was stopped at 8 p.m. to afford course workers some daylight. Play will resume early this morning, with the final round to follow.
Champions Tour
Loren Roberts shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead over Lonnie Nielson in the Senior Players Championship in Deerborn, Mich.
Roberts, 51, the winner of his first three starts this season on the tour, shot 4-under 32s on each of the nines and hit a 180-yard iron shot within 4 feet to set up a birdie on the par-4 18th.
Tahoe celebrity event
Former NFL quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver birdied the last three holes to take a narrow lead over former hockey player Dan Quinn in the second round of the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nev.
He has 51 points in the modified Stableford scoring system that puts a premium on eagles and birdies, followed by Quinn with 49, actor Jack Wagner with 47 and former NHL star Mario Lemieux with 44 heading into today’s final round.
“I hung in there and did all right down the stretch but messed up quite a few pretty easy shots,” said Tolliver, a two-time winner and defending champion in the $500,000 tournament at the 6,972-yard Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.
PNGA Men’s Amateur
Danny Green of Jackson, Tenn., defeated Erik Olson of Newcastle, Wash., 9 and 7 in the 36-hole final to win the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Men’s Amateur Championship played at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, British Columbia.
U.S. Public Links
Former University of Nevada player Casey Watabu won the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, beating Oklahoma’s Anthony Kim 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.