Goggin stays in control at Memorial

Mathew Goggin kept birdies and mistakes to a minimum on a long Saturday at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, shooting a 1-under 71 in the third round that was good enough to build a three-shot lead as he tries to win his first PGA Tour event.

Muirfield Village changed its character, but only slightly, thanks to a 2 1/2-hour rain delay that led to long shadows late in the day. What didn’t change was the rough and difficult conditions, and Goggin didn’t have to do much to keep his lead.

He was at 8-under 208, the highest 54-hole score at the Jack Nicklaus’ event since Greg Norman won a rain-shortened tournament in 1990 at even-par 216. The more significant number was his three-shot lead.

Goggin has said since opening with a 65 that a first- and second-round lead didn’t mean too much.

“Expectations are rising,” he said. “Three shots in front, I expect to win.”

But he doesn’t expect it to be easy, not on a Muirfield course that resembles a U.S. Open from the 1990s, and not with five players stacked up behind him.

Former Masters champion Mike Weir matched the best round of the day, a bogey-free 68 that put him at 5-under 211 and in the final group with Goggin, who has never had a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour.

Matt Kuchar was among those going backward until holing out with a wedge for eagle on the 15th, following that with a birdie on the 16th and posting a 71 to join the large group in a tie for second.

Also at 211 were Justin Rose (70), who captured the European Tour Order of Merit last year but has yet to win on this side of the Atlantic; Jerry Kelly, whose superb ball-striking was wasted by 34 putts in a round of 73; and Kenny Perry, whose spirits were lifted with an 18-foot birdie on the last hole for a 74.

Perry, a two-time champion at the Memorial who has squandered two good chances to win this month, missed six putts inside 10 feet on the back nine as he slid further away from Goggin. But the birdie on No. 18 kept him in the game.

LPGA

Sophie Gustafson shot a 67 to push past a faltering Karrie Webb and take a six-stroke lead into the final round of the Ginn Tribute in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Tournament host Annika Sorenstam, meanwhile, continued to struggle at her namesake event with a 75.

No one could keep up with Gustafson in the third round.

Tied with Webb when the round began, Gustafson started quickly with an eagle and two birdies on her first six holes to go four up on the Australian Hall of Famer.

Gustafson continued to grow her lead, bouncing back from a double bogey on the 12th – her first bogey in 33 holes – with two birdies down the stretch. Na-Yeon Choi shot a 68 to tie Webb (73) for second.

Tracy Hanson from Rathdrum shot a 69 for a 213 total. She is tied for 34th.

Champions Tour

It didn’t take Nick Price long to vault himself back into position for his first Champions Tour victory.

Price, who blew a two-shot lead in the final round of the FedEx Kinko’s Classic in early May, shot a 5-under-par 66 to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the Principal Charity Classic in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Price will enter today’s final round at Glen Oaks Country Club with a 6-under 136 total. Six players, including Bobby Wadkins and Mark McNulty, were one shot back.

NCAA men

Kevin Chappell parred the last hole to wrap up the individual title and lead UCLA to the team title at the NCAA men’s Division I championship in West Lafayette, Ind.

Chappell shot a 4-over-par 76 in the final round, but won the individual title with a 2-under 286.

The Bruins took the title with a final score of 42-over 1,194 at Kampen Course. Stanford, last year’s winner, took second.

Washington’s Nick Taylor shot a 3-over 75 in the final round to tie for second with Indiana’s Jorge Campillo. The pair finished at 1-over 289.

The Huskies finished seventh overall at 56-over 1,208.