Ward shares third-round lead

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., moved into contention for her second straight LPGA Tour victory, shooting a 4-under 68 on Saturday in Morelia, Mexico, for a share of the third-round lead with Sweden’s Carin Koch in the Corona Morelia Championship.

Ward, 31, who won the Takefuji Classic last week in Las Vegas for her first victory in nearly four years, lost the outright lead with a bogey on par-5 18th. Koch, winless since 2001, shot a 71 to match Ward at 8 under.

Natalie Gulbis was five strokes back after a 72, and Stacy Prammanasudh and Catriona Matthew were tied for fourth at 2 under after 70s. Karine Icher was at 1 under.

A sunny morning gave way to dense clouds in the afternoon and officials ordered all players off the Tres Marias Golf Club at 4:49 p.m. because of lightning. Play resumed after a delay of 1 hour, 25 minutes.

Ward said before the round that she will have to keep winning in order to truly stay happy on tour.

“I’m not satisfied with just being an average player. To finish 31 or 32 on the money list like I did last year, that’s an OK year … but I’m a competitor so much on the inside,” she said. “The standards I have for myself, I just set them a little bit higher. And it is such a thrill to win and hold up that trophy that every time I do it, I can’t wait to do it again.”

Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa continued to struggle during the second tournament of the year in her homeland, failing to convert some makeable puts in shooting a 76 to finish at 4 over. Hundreds of fans, many of whom chanted her name, followed Ochoa from hole to hole, even as she struggled.

Ochoa, who won twice last year to become the LPGA Tour’s first Mexican-born champion, also was the center of attention in the MasterCard Classic last month outside Mexico City, but failed to challenge winner Annika Sorenstam.

South Korea’s Sung Ah Yim aced the 184-yard 13th with a 4-iron, She shot a 73 to finish at even par.

PGA Tour

Defending champion Vijay Singh fought off windy conditions and a slow start, shooting a 2-under 70 to join Australia’s Gavin Coles at the top of the leaderboard after the third round of the Shell Houston Open in Humble, Texas.

Singh, a nine-time winner last year who was recently elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, had three birdies on the back nine to match Coles at 11-under 205 on Redstone Golf Club’s Jacobsen/Hardy Course.

Coles, who started the day tied for the lead with Brett Quigley at 10 under, had a 71 as wind gusting over 20 mph kept scores high.

“It’s awesome, mate,” Coles said. “I can’t imagine too many guys that wouldn’t want to be in my shoes tomorrow standing outside the ropes, that’s for sure.

“What better could it be, playing with the No. 2 player in the world?”

Englishman Greg Owen faltered with bogeys on his last two holes to finish with a 70, leaving him a stroke back at 10 under. Quigley (73) and Jose Maria Olazabal (70) were 9 under, and John Daly (73) topped a three-man group at 8 under.

Singh started the day one shot off the pace and fell as much as five shots behind with bogeys at Nos. 4 and 6, both par-4 holes, then bounced back with birdies at 8 and 10. A birdie at the par-5 12th hole, where his approach landed 3 feet from the pin, pulled him within one of the lead.

Then at the par-5 15th, the 42-yearold Fijian made a 6-foot birdie putt to pull even with Coles and Owen at 11 under. Singh, seeking his third victory in the tournament in four years, finished with three pars.

Champions Tour

Wayne Levi battled both Tom Purtzer and a strong wind, and held on for a one-stroke lead after two rounds of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in Savannah, Ga.

Levi, seeking his first Champions Tour victory of the season, shot a 4-under 68 for a two-round total of 9-under 135 at The Club at Savannah Harbor, a 7,087-yard island layout in the middle of the Savannah River.

Purtzer, who led by a stroke after the first round, felt his back stiffen in the windy conditions, but carded a 71 for a 136 total. Gusts reached 20 mph out of the northwest over the largely unprotected island, which has few trees.

Ireland’s Des Smyth (71) and Tom Jenkins (67) were tied at 137.

Levi, who has five top-10 finishes in six events this season, had a chance to take a commanding lead into today’s final round, but bogeyed the final two holes.

“That’s the way it is. I didn’t want to do that,” Levi said. “I could have had a pretty good lead. But, that’s a lot of ifs.”

European Tour

Adam Scott increased his lead in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Beijing with a 6-under 66 in the second round before making five birdies through 11 holes in the partially completed third round to take a six-stroke lead.

Scott, an Australian who broke the Pine Valley Golf Resort and Country Club record in the first round with a 9-under 63, had seven birdies and a bogey for a 36-hole total of 15 under. By the 11th hole of the third round, Scott had moved to 19 under.

Heavy winds disrupted the first round Thursday, pushing back play and delaying the completion of the third round until this morning.

Only about a third of the 76 players who made the second-round cut managed to finish the third round Saturday in the $2.3 million tournament.

Henrik Stenson of Sweden climbed up the leaderboard, making six birdies through 12 holes in the third round to join Gary Rusnak of the United States on 13 under.

Rusnak had eight birdies in the second round and four birdies through the 11th hole in the third.

“I made two quick birdies and then hit it good for the next five holes but couldn’t make any putts,” Rusnak said.