Green maintains lead at Deere
Australian Nathan Green moved a step closer to his first PGA Tour victory, shooting a 3-under-par 68 Saturday in the third round of the John Deere Classic at Silvis, Ill., and maintaining a one-stroke lead.
Green is 15-under 198 through 54 holes and withstood pushes by 2006 Masters runner-up Tim Clark (66) and Jonathan Byrd (65). Clark is 14 under after finishing with three straight birdies, and Byrd was two strokes off the lead.
Green spent the past three weeks relaxing back home in Australia following the U.S. Open, where he missed the cut. Now, he’s trying to become the third Australian in four years to win the Deere, joining Mark Hensby and John Senden.
Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett shot 69 and is at 5-under 208.
LPGA
Se Ri Pak birdied the last hole to maintain a two-shot lead over hard-charging Morgan Pressel in the third round of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio.
Pressel had eight birdies in a 7-under 64 to put pressure on the four-time Farr champion.
Pak added a third-round 69 to her opening 63 and a 68 and is at 13-under 200.
Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., fired a 67 and is tied for 10th at 5-over 208.
Scottish Open
Two-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson showed signs of overcoming his slump and recent wrist injury with a 3-under 68 for a one-shot lead after three rounds of the Scottish Open in Luss, Scottland.
Mickelson has a 54-hole total of 12-under 201.
Champions Tour
R.W. Eaks had an eagle, a hole-in-one and birdied five of his final 10 holes, smiling all the way en route to a career-low 62 to surge into the second-round lead at the inaugural Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, N.Y.
Eaks finished at 11-under 133. That was one shot ahead of Monday qualifier and Champions Tour rookie Bruce Vaughan (64).
Junior PGA
Alexis Thompson finished with a 2-under 69 and a 1-under 283 total to overcome reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kimberly Kim and win the Junior PGA Championship at Westfield Center, Ohio.
Chris DeForest of Cottekill, N.Y., shot a 3-over 74 to finish at 10-under 274, winning the boys title by six shots over Mark Johnson of Tulsa, Okla.
Publinx
Colt Knost took an early lead and cruised to the 82nd U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship by beating Cody Paladino 6-and-4 at Wheaton, Ill.
Woods’ caddie talks
Steve Williams has no intention of quitting his job as caddie to Tiger Woods, the New Zealand native said.
Williams told New Zealand’s Sunday Star-Times he didn’t know why rumors were circulating he was about to end his partnership with Woods.