StarBulletin.com

Wie in position


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POSTED: Sunday, November 15, 2009

GUADALAJARA, Mexico » Michelle Wie moved into position for her first LPGA Tour victory, shooting a 2-under 70 yesterday in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational for a share of the third-round lead with Cristie Kerr.

“;I'm really excited for tomorrow,”; Wie said. “;Hopefully, I can go out and win.

“;I think I'm just going to play the same way I've always played and go out there and try my hardest and try not to make any expectations of myself. Just go out there like it's another day and try to play as hard as I can and try not to make any bogeys.”;

Kerr had a 67 to match Wie at 10 under on the Guadalajara Country Club course.

Second-round leader Jiyai Shin (74) was a stroke back along with Paula Creamer (71) and first-round leader Song-Hee Kim (70).

The top-ranked Ochoa (72) was six strokes behind at 4 under.

The 20-year-old Wie has a share of the lead going into the final round for the second time this season. She was tied for the lead in February in the SBS Open in Hawaii, but ended up three strokes behind winner Angela Stanford.

“;I don't want to talk about what happened then,”; Wie said. “;It's unfortunate. All I want to think about is tomorrow and how I'm going to play tomorrow.”;

Kerr won earlier this season, taking the Michelob Ultra Open.

Shin had a difficult day with three bogeys on the back nine. The South Korean has already won the rookie of the year award—ahead of Wie—and could clinch the player of the year trophy if she wins today. Ochoa has won that award three straight years.

Kerr reached 10 under with an eagle on 16.

Wie opened with two straight birdies—a 10-footer on the first and a 30-footer on the second. A 3-foot birdie putt on 13 put her in a three-way tie with Shin and Creamer at 11 under. After that it was holding on. Wie dropped one more shot before the round was over, but Shin and Creamer each dropped two.

 

Tiger's 68 nets seventh win of season

Tiger Woods won the Australian Masters for his seventh victory of the year, closing with a 4-under 68 for a victory that record crowds at Kingston Heath came to see.

In his first trip Down Under in 11 years, Woods put on quite a show for his $3 million appearance fee.

He pulled away from a three-way tie for the lead with three birdies on his opening six holes, then seized control with a tee shot that covered the flag and stopped 6 feet away for birdie on the 15th.

 

Four tied for Disney lead

George McNeill closed with a double-bogey yesterday, allowing three others to share the lead heading into the final round of the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

McNeill overcame a five-shot deficit and made a pair of eagles on a cool day at Disney World that made greens fast but easy to reach. He shot a 3-under 69 that left him tied at 203 with Justin Leonard (71), Justin Rose (69) and Mathias Gronberg (66) after three rounds.

Kaneohe's Dean WIlson shot an even-par 72 and is tied for 45th at 4-under 212.