SILVIS, Ill. – John Senden took the lead and the spotlight at the John Deere Classic on Saturday, one day after Michelle Wie withdrew because of heat exhaustion.
With temperatures in the low 90s, Senden shot a 7-under 64 to reach 16 under.
Heath Slocum and Patrick Sheehan were three back at 13 under after 66s. Second-round leader Joe Ogilvie (69), Alex Cejka (64), Steve Jones (66), J.P. Hayes (66) and Daniel Chopra (68) were 12 under.
With the hype surrounding Wie’s bid to become the first woman in 61 years to make the cut on the PGA Tour, the rest of the field was overshadowed.
The 16-year-old Wie had finished a combined five shots off the lead in the first three LPGA majors this year and was back at the site of her close call in 2005, when she missed the cut by two strokes.
Gulbis shares top spot
SYLVANIA, Ohio – Natalie Gulbis birdied her final hole to pull into a three-way tie for the lead before play was suspended late in the third round of the storm-plagued Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
Gulbis, seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, birdied the par-5 17th to tie Reilley Rankin and Mi Hyun Kim at 12 under.
Kim also birdied the 17th just before play was stopped, while Rankin completed 16 holes.
Paula Creamer and Se Ri Pak were a shot back, and Annika Sorenstam also made a birdie putt on her last hole – the 15th – to pull within four shots of the leaders. Play was stopped at 8 p.m. to afford course workers some daylight. Play will resume early Sunday morning.
Roberts out in front
DEARBORN, Mich. – Loren Roberts shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead over Lonnie Nielson in the Senior Players Championship.
The 51-year-old Roberts, the winner of his first three starts this season on the Champions Tour, shot 4-under 32s on each of the nines and hit a 180-yard iron shot within 4 feet to set up a birdie on the par-4 18th hole.
Last week in the U.S. Senior Open, Roberts followed a third-round 62 with a 73 to tie for eighth place. He had a 14-under 202 total on the TPC of Michigan.
Nielsen shot a 66 to finish at 12 under. Brad Bryant and Dana Quigley were 11 under after 68s.
Barclays Scottish Open
LUSS, Scotland (AP) – Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn made a 25-foot birdie putt on the last hole to tie Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke for the lead in the Barclays Scottish Open.
Bjorn shot a 5-under 66 to match Clarke (71) at 11-under 202 on the Loch Lomond course. Benn Barham (65), Andres Romero (68) and David Drysdale (69) were 9 under.
Ernie Els shot 67 to move within four strokes of the leaders.
AP-ES-07-15-06 2108EDT
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