Sorenstam Scorches Course

A week too late for history, Annika Sorenstam has found her game again.

It was on full display in the JAL Big Apple Classic in New Rochelle, N.Y., as Sorenstam shook off her missed-chance blues at the Women’s U.S. Open - where she missed the cut in her bid for her third straight Open title - and stormed into contention going into today’s final round.

Sorenstam tied the Big Apple’s nine-hole record of 30 with five birdies on the front and finished with a 4-under 67, four strokes off the lead.

Michele Redman held onto the lead she has had since the first round with an even-par 71.

Hale Irwin, a four-time winner this year who leads the Senior PGA Tour money list with $1,137,061, shot a 4-under-par 68 to take the second-round lead in the Burnet Senior Classic.

Steve Jurgensen, in the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic on a sponsor’s exemption, shot a 3-under-par 69 to build a two-stroke lead going into the final round of the tournament in Madison, Miss.

Pullman’s Kirk Triplett was eight back after a 71.

Tim Clark, a South African student at North Carolina State, took a 5-up lead through the first 11 holes and beat Ryuji Imada 7 and 6 in the 36-hole final of the U.S. Public Links Championship in Lexington, Ky.

The victory gave Clark an exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship and an invitation to play in next year’s Masters, if still an amateur.