Football
Associated Press 18y

Webb, three South Koreans atop leaderboard

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. -- Whether it's one stroke or 10, Annika
Sorenstam looks awfully imposing at the top of a leaderboard.

That's where she was going into the final round at Eagle's
Landing Country Club.

Shrugging off a couple of rain delays, Sorenstam shot an
8-under-par 64 on Saturday -- her third straight round in the 60s --
and grabbed the lead at the Florida's Natural Charity Championship.

"It's been a long day. A very long day," said Sorenstam, who
finished up in the next-to-last group just as the sun was dipping
below the trees at the course south of Atlanta. "But I'm very
happy with my score. I thought I played some good golf."

A year ago, Sorenstam had essentially wrapped up this tournament
by the end of the third round, taking a 10-stroke lead to Sunday
and winning by the same margin. This time, she went into the final
18 holes with a one-stroke cushion over 36-hole leader Sung Ah Yim,
who posted a bogey-free 68.

"It's a little bit of a different situation than last year,"
Sorenstam said. "But having said that, I'm in great shape for
tomorrow. I'm happy with the way I'm playing. I'm hitting a lot of
fairways and greens, and I'm putting well."

Indeed, it would be a major surprise if she doesn't hang on to
the lead.

Sorenstam is the only two-time winner of this event, and now
she's has a chance to be the first to win it back-to-back. She's
homing in on her second LPGA Tour win of the year and 68th of her
Hall of Fame career.

Contrast that with Yim, a 22-year-old South Korean who's in just
her second year on the LPGA Tour and has never finished higher than
third. And what about the rest of the field? No one else was within
five shots of Sorenstam's 17-under total of 199.

"She's really better than me," Yim acknowledged. "But I'm not
scared. I've just got to hit it straight. Just do it."

The start of the third round was delayed 45 minutes by rain, and
play was halted again for nearly 1½ hours while thunderstorms moved
through the area. The rest of the round was played in mostly sunny
conditions, though the final groups barely had enough daylight to
finish up.

"The last four holes, we were playing straight into the sun and
straight into the wind," Sorenstam said. "I was looking at the
clock, hoping, wondering, 'Can we finish today?' It would have been
quite a tough day (Sunday) if we couldn't finish, have to get up
early, finish and then start over."

After teeing off late, Sorenstam was forced back to the
clubhouse after playing a couple of holes. But she got things
rolling with four straight birdies to finish the front nine,
sinking three testy putts between 9 and 12 feet.

Sorenstam scrambled at the end for the lead. She hit two bunkers
on No. 17, but managed to sink a 12-foot putt to save par. Then,
going for the green with her second shot at the par-5 18th, her
ball clipped an oak tree overhanging the fairway and fell to the
ground along with a limb.

"My caddie told me not to get too cute," Sorenstam said. "He
told me, 'Just get it on the green. You're putting well.' That's
what I did."

Sorenstam chipped 12 feet past the hole, then made the birdie
putt coming back. She pumped her fist as the ball disappeared into
the hole.

Karrie Webb, playing in her first tournament since winning the
year's opening major, dropped back with a 70. She's among those in
a five-way tie at 204, joined by rookie Brittany Lang, Beth Daniel,
49-year-old Sherri Turner and Jeong Jang.

Turner turned in the best round of the day, an amazing 63 that
pushed her into contention. She had eight birdies, plus an eagle at
the par-3 second hole, but a bogey at No. 7 cost her a chance to
tie the course record (62) set by Barb Kolb in 1999.

Turner captured the last of her three tour victories in 1989.
She hasn't finished higher than 33rd this year but always seems to
play well on this course, shooting a 63 in 1995 and making the only
two double-eagles in tournament history.

"I'm very, very pleased," Turner said. "It's been a long time
since I had a good score on Saturday."

Jee Young Lee, who trailed Yim by one stroke at the start of the
day, struggled to a 76 that left her 10 strokes behind Sorenstam.

Going the other way was first-round co-leader Cristie Kerr.
Bouncing back from Friday's 75, she stormed into contention with a
65 that left her at 205. It all started off with a brilliant par
save at her first hole, where Kerr sank a 20-foot putt in a steady
rain.

"It gave me a lot of confidence because I didn't really putt
well yesterday," she said.

Then, after being forced to the clubhouse by the second round of
storms, Kerr came back to birdie five of six holes before the turn.

"I feel good about my chances," she said. "I'll have to shoot
8 or 9 under to win, but that's how it goes."<
^Divots:@ Maria Hjorth, tied for the lead after Thursday's round,
hasn't come close to matching her opening 65. The Swede was at 5
under after back-to-back 73s. ... Sorenstam also won the tournament
in 2001, when it was a 54-hole event. She beat Sophie Gustafson in
a playoff. ... Sorenstam needs a 66 on Sunday to equal her 23-under
score from a year ago.

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