Golf: Ochoa surges ahead
Lorena Ochoa moved into position for her second straight victory and fifth of the season, shooting a 7-under 64 in rainy conditions Saturday to take a four-stroke lead in the Canadian Women’s Open at Edmonton, Alberta.
The top-ranked Mexican star, coming off her first major victory two weeks ago in the Women’s British Open, had a 14-under 199 total on the Royal Mayfair course. She opened with rounds of 70 and 65 and hasn’t made a bogey in 40 holes.
“I’m an aggressive player,” Ochoa said. “I was trying to make a lot of birdies and I don’t regret that. That’s the only way you can really shoot low and do something that they (the fans) can remember.”
Paula Creamer (66) and Laura Diaz (68) were 10 under, Ya-Ni Tseng (67) followed at 8 under, and Juli Inkster (73) and Kimberly Hall (72) were 6 under. Shi Hyun Ahn, tied for the lead with Inkster after the second round, had a 74 to drop to 5 under.
Ochoa, a stroke behind Inkster and Ahn at the start of play Saturday, had five birdies in a front-nine 30 and added two more birdies on the back nine to match the course record set by Karrie Webb on Friday. Ochoa had a chance to break the record, but her 15-foot putt from the fringe on 18 stopped inches from the hole.
Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., was tied for 19th at 3-under for the tournament while Rathdrum’s Tracy Hanson was tied for 54th at 1-under.
PGA Tour
Jeff Overton shot a 6-under 66 to open up a three-stroke lead after the third round of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C.
The 24-year-old Overton, seeking his first PGA Tour victory, had an 18-under 198 total on the Forest Oaks Country Club course. Billy Mayfair (64), Anders Hansen (68), Carl Pettersson (68) and Tim Petrovic (68) were 15 under, and 2003 winner Shigeki Maruyama (67) and Lucas Glover (66) followed at 14 under.
Overton overcame a bogey on his first hole with birdies on seven of his next 11. He bogeyed No. 13 after a birdie on the previous hole got him to 18 under, but he got the stroke back with a birdie on the 16th.
Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett is at 8-under.
Champions Tour
Mark McNulty shot a 2-under 70 for a share of the third-round lead in The Tradition with David Edwards at Sunriver, Ore.
Edwards was atop the leaderboard much of the day in the Champions Tour major, but double-bogeyed the par-3 17th hole and finished with an even-par 72 to match McNulty at 12-under 204 on the Crosswater Gold Club course. McNulty bogeyed the par-4 18th.
D.A. Weibring (68) was 10 under, and Tom Watson (67) and Tom Kite (68) followed at 9 under.