Golf roundup
Lancaster front-runner in Canadian Open MARKHAM, Ontario (AP) – Neal Lancaster is playing so well at the Canadian Open that he had one of the best scores despite playing in the final group, took a 54-hole lead for the first time in six years on the PGA Tour – and was thoroughly disgusted.
Never mind a bogey-free day at Angus Glen, a 5-under 67 that kept anyone from catching him on another day of low scoring.
What bothered the happy-go-lucky country boy from North Carolina was that his two-stroke lead over Greg Chalmers could have been larger.
Lancaster missed only two greens all day. He missed six birdie putts inside 12 feet on the back nine alone, including the final two holes.
“I could have put a big gap between me and second place,” said Lancaster, who had to settle for 16-under 200. “I was 2-under par on the back nine, and felt like I was over par.”
Perspective eventually set in.
Lancaster’s only PGA Tour victory came eight years ago, and he’s in the lead going into the final round for the first time since the 1996 Nissan Open.
“If I can not put any pressure on myself tomorrow, I’ll be all right,” he said.
Chalmers chipped in from 15 feet for eagle on No. 7, then rolled in a 30-foot eagle putt on No. 9 in shooting a 65 to earn a spot in the final group for the first time.
Suddenly, Chalmers isn’t worried about trying to keep his card – he’s 115th on the PGA Tour money list as the season winds down. Sunday will be about winning.
“If you take care of one problem, it fixes the other,” Chalmers said.
Billy Andrade, who started the third round tied with Lancaster, lost two balls in the hazard on the front nine and finished with a 70. He was in the group at 203 that included Vijay Singh (66), Justin Leonard (66), Steve Flesch (65) and Grant Waite (69).
“I’ll probably have to shoot 5 under again to win it,” Lancaster said. “I don’t think I can shoot 3 under and win.”
Given that Angus Glen has given up rounds of at least 65 all three days, Lancaster’s margin is hardly safe. Eleven players were within six strokes of his lead.
That includes Ian Leggatt, the nation’s best hope of being the first Canadian to win his national open since Pat Fletcher in 1954.
Karl Keffer was the last Canadian-born winner in 1914.
Leggatt had the biggest gallery of the day, but disappointed them by dropping four shots on his first 13 holes. He followed that with a birdie-birdie-eagle stretch that brought him back to even-par 72, and at 206 still in the hunt.
Lancaster shot a 77 in the final round at Riviera the last time he had a 54-hole lead, although that kind of stuff doesn’t weigh on him in the least. He’s just out to play some golf and see where he winds up.
“If it’s not good enough, I’ll try again next week,” he said. “The thing is, I’ve got to believe I can do it. Today was a big step.”
He’s been plenty good so far. Lancaster has made only one bogey all week at Angus Glen, and Saturday was about as easy as a 67 can get.
He rolled in a 15-foot putt on the opening hole, made a 12-footer on No. 11 and picked his other birdies on the par 5s, getting up-and-down from around the green. He would have been perfect on the long holes except for missing a 6-footer on No. 14. He also left a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th right in the throat.
The back nine was about the only time Lancaster got too serious. He knew he was striking the ball well, and he knew he had a chance to open up a big lead.
“My caddie got so wound up I had to calm him down,” Lancaster said. “When I made that putt on No. 11, he said, ‘Let me get it out of the cup so everyone will see me on TV.”‘
Lancaster will get plenty of air time on Sunday when he goes after his second tour victory, and the first one that goes the distance.
Kroger Senior
MAINEVILLE, Ohio – Bob Gilder shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead in the Kroger Senior Classic, putting him in position to win consecutive senior tour events for the second time this year.
Gilder, winner of the Allianz Championship last week in Iowa, had a 13-under 131 total. First-round leader Andy North (68) and Ed Dougherty (65) followed at 12 under, and Tom Kite, with the day’s low score of 64, moved into contention at 11 under.
“I feel like I’m more in control with my iron play than last week,” Gilder said. “Today was as good a day, tee to green, as I’ve had. It seemed like I hit the ball close all day. I’m giving myself a lot of chances, and I’m putting pretty decently.”
Kite’s 64 tied the course record set by Steve Flesch in U.S. Open sectional qualifying in June and matched by North in the opening round on the new 7,145-yard TPC at River’s Bend.
Kite might have broken that record and tied for the lead except for a bad chip and a three-putt lapse on the par-5 sixth.
“That was pretty demoralizing,” Kite said. “I kind of threw away two shots.”
Still, “I hit my irons much better today than in a long, long time,” Kite said.
Miller Barber had noticed that Kite’s swing had become too steep, he said.
“It’s a great stroke for chopping wood, but not for golf,” Kite said.
North struggled through the front nine.
“I hit the trees off the tee at the first hole and made just an ugly bogey,” North said. He had another “ugly bogey” on the par-3 fifth when he hit a seven iron over the green.
“I just kind of hung in there and played the last 13 holes pretty well,” North said.
Five birdies on the back nine put him back in the hunt.
Dougherty equaled Gilder, Ben Crenshaw and Hale Irwin with his 65.
“I’m in position where if I shoot the lowest score of the day I might win,” Dougherty said. “There’s only one other guy who can say that.”
Gilder, who trails only Irwin on the senior money list, won the SBC Senior Open and the FleetBoston Classic on consecutive weeks in July.
A win today would be his fourth in eight weeks, with one week off because of an open date on the senior calendar.
Williams Championship
TULSA, Okla. – Annika Sorenstam shot a 4-under 66 in hot conditions to take a one-stroke lead over Lorie Kane and Cristie Kerr after the second round of the Williams Championship.
Sorenstam, seeking her seventh LPGA Tour victory of the year and ninth worldwide title, had six birdies and two bogeys as the temperature soared to 97 degrees on the Tulsa Country Club course.
The Swede, a 38-time time winner in nine season on the LPGA Tour, has had a share of the lead entering the final round 40 times, winning 23 titles and finishing second eight times.
Kane followed her opening 71 with a career-low 64, and Kerr, preparing for her first U.S. Solheim Cup appearance, shot a 70.
European Masters
CRANS-SUR-SIERRE, Switzerland – Sweden’s Robert Karlsson shot a 3-under 68 to take a two-stroke lead over Italy’s Emanuele Canonica after the third round of the European Masters.
Karlsson had a 14-under 199 total. Canonica shot a 65.
England’s Barry Lane shot a 64 to match Scotland’s Paul Lawrie (66) and South Africa’s Trevor Immelman (65) at 11 under.
British Open champion Ernie Els (66) and England’s Nick Faldo (69) were eight strokes back.