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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Els Struggles To Retain Buick Open Lead

Associated Press

The best Ernie Els could do at windswept Warwick Hills Country Club on Saturday was even-par 72, but that was good enough for a three-stroke lead at 203 heading into the final round of the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Curtis Strange, Larry Mize and Brad Fabel were tied for second at 206. Strange shot 68, Mize 69 and Fabel 70 in Saturday’s third round.

Els struggled in the third round. He took a big step backward with a double-bogey at the par-4 second hole. Two birdies and a bogey later, he made the turn in 37.

Els almost pitched in for eagle on No. 13 for the second straight day, but his shot from a greenside bunker hit the pin and rolled 3 feet past the hole. That birdie finally got him back to 13-under, exactly where he was at the start of the round.

LPGA

Nancy Harvey and Deb Richard gained a share of the lead with Chris Johnson after 54 holes of the Friendly’s Classic in Agawam, Mass.

Harvey, yet to win on the LPGA Tour, shot a 3-under-par 69 and was at 6-under-par 210 with Johnson and Richard, the latter of whom is trying to win for the first time since back surgery 18 months ago.

Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum, Idaho, shot a 75 and is at 219. Clarkston’s Robin Walton shot a 77 and is at 226.

PGA seniors

Dana Quigley and Walter Hall, who had to qualify to make the field, joined Spain’s Jose Maria Canizares, who is playing courtesy of a sponsor’s exemption, atop the leaderboard after two rounds of the $1 million Northville Long Island Classic in Jericho, N.Y.

Quigley shot a 67 and Hall a 68 to complete 36 holes at 10-under-par 134. Canizares, who shot a course-record 64 on Friday, had a 70.

Walker cup

The United States swept the morning alternate-shot play, then won four of the eight singles matches for an 8-1/2 - 3-1/2 lead over Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup in Scarsdale, N.Y.

The Americans need only four of the 12 points up for grabs today to reclaim the amateur team prize it lost in Wales in 1995.

U.S. Women’s Amateur

Silvia Cavalleri became the first Italian native to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur title with a 5-and-4 win over Robin Burke in Newton, Mass.

Burke, 34, wasn’t born when her husband Jack, now 74, won the PGA and Masters championships in 1956. They met 13 years ago in Houston where she went to him for putting tips.

Cavalleri, 24, is the first Italian native to win any of the U.S. Golf Association’s 13 national titles.