Ochoa clings to one-shot lead

Nothing ever comes easily for Lorena Ochoa at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

She has been jilted the last two years at Mission Hills, the major that makes her feel at home with so many Mexican flags waving in the gallery and shouts of “Pajarito” – birdie – to carry her along.

But as she stood on the 18th green late Saturday afternoon in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Ochoa pursed her lips and looked up at the blazing blue sky in disgust. She finished with three-putt bogeys on two of the last four holes, dropping her lead to a single shot over Hee-Won Han.

“I’m OK,” Ochoa said after a 1-under-par 71, leaving her as the only player to have broken par all three days. “I am not one to be upset. I am really positive. I’m really happy that I’m going to play tomorrow in the last group, that I have a chance to win a major, and that’s what I am going to do.”

So many others suddenly felt the same way.

Fourteen players were separated by five shots going into the final round, seven of them major champions.

U.S. Women’s Open champion Cristie Kerr picked the right fortune cookie at dinner Friday night – “A great day ahead,” it said – and fired a 66 that brought her within two shots of the lead. LPGA champion Suzann Pettersen holed out from the fairway on her way to a tournament-best 65, leaving her in range only four shots behind.

Ten-time major champion Annika Sorenstam battled a stomach virus so severe that she thought about quitting at the turn, only to gut it out with four birdies on the back nine that also left her in range.

“I still have a chance,” Sorenstam said, who was four behind. “If I feel good, then I’m going to charge.”

Ochoa, at 6-under 210, had a one-shot lead over Han, who shot 70 and will be playing in the final group at a major for the first time. Joining them will be Kerr, who held off Ochoa to win the Women’s Open last summer at Pine Needles.

“It all came together for me today,” said Kerr, who was at 212.

Seon Hwa Lee (68) and Maria Hjorth, who bogeyed the par-5 18th for a 72, also were at 212. Heather Young was tied with Ochoa going into the third round and had the lead with a birdie at No. 9, but she shot 39 on the back for a 74.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 78 and was at 224.

Houston Open

Johnson Wagner shot a 3-under 69 to take a one-shot lead over Chad Campbell after the third round of the Houston Open in Humble, Texas.

The 28-year-old Wagner, winless in 43 career starts, had a 15-under 201 total.

Campbell, playing one group ahead of Wagner, birdied five of his first nine holes for a 65. Charley Hoffman and Bob Estes were three behind at 12 under. Estes shot a 64, the best round of the day. Hoffman had a 69. Geoff Ogilvy shot a 66 to reach 10 under, and Mathew Goggin was another shot back after a 72.

Defending champion Adam Scott, who shared the first-round lead with Wagner, withdrew because of strep throat.

Champions Tour

Mark Wiebe shot a 4-under 68 to take a three-stroke lead over Scott Hoch in the Champions Tour’s Cap Cana Championship in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Wiebe’s bogey-free round, highlighted by an eagle-birdie run, pushed him to 9-under 135. After starting his round by making seven straight pars, Wiebe holed out a wedge shot from 45 yards for an eagle on the par-4 eighth hole. Wiebe, the SAS Championship winner last year, then birdied the par-4 ninth.

Hoch, a two-time winner on the Champions Tour already this year, shot a 67. Jay Haas (69) and Eduardo Romero (68) were four strokes behind Wiebe.