Sorenstam way out front

Annika Sorenstam muttered something under her breath after a poor chip. She missed a couple of short putts. She nearly put her ball in the water after getting a little too cautious off the tee.

OK, so Sorenstam isn’t perfect.

But a slip-up here and there won’t stop the inevitable.

Sorenstam stretched her lead to a staggering 10 strokes Saturday, virtually assuring her 60th career LPGA Tour victory with another round to go at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in Stockbridge, Ga.

Only two players in LPGA Tour history have rallied from such a daunting deficit on the final day, and they just happen to be two of the greatest in women’s golf history – Sorenstam in 2001 and Mickey Wright in 1964.

“I have come from 10 shots behind in one day and won a tournament,” Sorenstam pointed out. “So it has happened.”

But she’s the one in front this time, and she doesn’t have anyone nearly so impressive in the rearview mirror. This will be the 60th time Sorenstam has gone to the final round with a lead, and she’s claimed 39 of her wins from that position.

Silvia Cavalleri put up the best score of the day, 65, but that was only good enough to pull the Italian within 11 strokes of Sorenstam. Emilee Klein shot 68 and was the closest challenger at 208.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 67 to put her in a five-way tie for third place at 209.

Everyone else is playing for second. Sorenstam’s only opponent is history.

With a fourth straight stellar round, she’s got a chance for another record – largest margin of victory. Cindy Mackey holds the mark with a 14-stroke runaway at the MasterCard International Pro-Am in 1986.

“I just want to win the tournament,” Sorenstam said. “That’s all that matters to me.”

Still, she’s putting on quite a show at Eagle’s Landing Country Club south of Atlanta, just one week after being denied a record sixth straight victory. She had to settle for merely tying Nancy Lopez’s record of five wins in a row.

Now, Sorenstam is about to pull even with another LPGA great. The 60th victory would tie Patty Berg for third place on the career list, leaving only Kathy Whitworth (88 wins) and Wright (82) to chase down.

PGA

Sean O’Hair is not interested in rehashing his long, troubled road to becoming a 22-year-old rookie on the PGA Tour. All that matters now is finishing it with a win in the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas.

Prompted to turn pro at age 17 by a father who saw him merely as a commodity, O’Hair showed poise beyond his years with a 3-under 67 to take a one-shot lead over British Open champion Todd Hamilton.

A weekend without Tiger Woods, who missed the cut for the first time in 142 events, suddenly is not lacking for a compelling storyline.

O’Hair was one of the best juniors in the country, driven my a father who made him run a mile for every bogey, told him to turn pro a year before he finished high school and had him sign a contract giving the father 10 percent of all future earnings. After failing against competition over his head, O’Hair left his father and hasn’t spoken to him in almost two years.

O’Hair, who was at 12-under 198, is only 18 holes away from the place he hoped to be all along.

But there is plenty of work left.

Hamilton shot a 65 despite missing two birdies putts inside 6 feet on the final four holes. Scott Verplank finished with three straight birdies for a 65, putting him at 10-under 200 with Doug Barron (65) and Ted Purdy (68).

Vijay Singh avoided a bogey-bogey finish with an 8-footer on the 18th for a 69 that left him at 6-under 204. Els failed to maintain his strong start, wound up with a 69 and was at 205 along with Phil Mickelson, who birdied two of his last three holes for a 70.

Champions Tour

Craig Stadler shot a 10-under 60 in Milton, Fla., to match the Champions Tour and Blue Angels Classic records, leaving him two strokes behind second-round leader Jim Thorpe.

Stadler had a 27 1/2 -foot putt on No. 18 for a 59, but the birdie try missed by 6 inches. He had 11 birdies and one bogey – on the par-4 ninth – in perfect scoring conditions on the 6,832-yard Moors Golf Club course.

Stadler became the sixth Champions Tour player to shoot a 60. Isao Aoki also had a 60 in his 1997 victory in the event, then the Emerald Coast Classic. Walter Morgan, Tom Purtzer, Bruce Fleisher and Thorpe also have shot 60s on the 50-and-over tour.

Thorpe, coming off a victory May 1 in the FedEx Kinko’s Classic in Lakeway, Texas, shot a 64 for a 13-under 127 total. Morris Hatalsky (65) was a stroke back.

European Tour

Michael Campbell of New Zealand birdied the last four holes for a 5-under 67 to take a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the British Masters in Meriden, England.

Campbell’s finish left him ahead of the English trio of Steve Webster, David Howell and Brian Davis. Webster carded a 70, Howell 72 and Davis 73.