CORNING, N.Y. – Paula Creamer is back in the spot she covets – atop the leaderboard.

The 20-year-old LPGA Tour star birdied her two final holes Saturday for a 6-under 66 to tie Beth Bader and Young Kim for the third-round lead at the Corning Classic.

Creamer, who began the day three shots behind Bader, completed a bogey-free round with a nice par save at No. 16, then chipped to about a foot at No. 17 and finished with a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

“This was a really good three-hole finish. I finished strong,” said Creamer, who won at Turtle Bay in her first start of the season. “I gave myself plenty of opportunities to go low and I made some good putts.”

Bader (69), who began the day with a one-shot lead over Kim (68), fell behind by two shots at the turn. She tied Kim at 16 under with a birdie at No. 13, and the two parred the final five holes to finish at 16-under 200 – one shot ahead of Mi Hyun Kim (66).

Two South Korean rookies were in the hunt for their first tour victories. In-Kyung Kim (68) was at 12 under, one shot ahead of Na On Min (68). Becky Morgan (70) also was at 11 under.

Among the top seven players on the leaderboard, only Creamer and Mi Hyun Kim have won on the LPGA Tour. And Creamer already was anticipating the final round. Although the third round was played under mostly sunny conditions with a light breeze, rain was in the forecast, and tournament officials will use threesomes going off both the first and 10th tees to speed play Sunday.

That means Creamer will be the only one in her group to have won on tour, and she relishes the challenge inclement weather presents. Her first career victory came in the rain at the 2005 Sybase Classic, just four days after she graduated from high school.

“It’s going to be a good day tomorrow,” said Creamer, who also won the Evian Masters as a rookie. “Hopefully, it’ll be windy and tough conditions. But if not, we’ll take it. It’s going to be a good finish.”

Verplank grabs share of lead in Colonial

FORT WORTH, Texas – Scott Verplank has set himself up for the chance at a rare Texas two-step on the PGA Tour.

Playing through periodic rain showers, Verplank had five birdies in 13 holes Saturday before the third round of the soaked Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial was suspended by impending darkness and more rain.

Verplank got to 9 under for a share of the lead with Rory Sabbatini, Pat Perez, Kevin Na, Arron Oberholser and Ben Curtis. Sabbatini had seven birdies and a bogey through 12 holes.

Romero in Senior PGA lead despite mistakes

IAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Eduardo Romero missed a chance to take a big lead into the final day of the Senior PGA Championship, bogeying the final two holes Saturday to finish the third round with a two-stroke advantage.

Romero was 9 under and four shots ahead after a birdie on the par-3 14th, but hit into a bunker on the 17th hole, leading to one bogey. Then he missed a 7-foot par putt on the 18th hole to tighten up a tournament he appeared to have a lock on.

Still, the Argentine star was 7 under after his 71, two strokes better than Denis Watson (69) and Nick Price (70). Naomichi “Joe” Ozaki (72) was fourth at 4 under.

Romero had played the best of anyone through two rounds of wind gusts as high as 31 mph – and urged the nearby Atlantic to do its worst because Romero grew up playing far breezier rounds in his native country.

Even though gusts slackened, Romero’s game did not until the end. He had gone 17 holes without a bogey before closing with two straight.

He remains poised for a second straight major on the Champions Tour – he captured The Tradition in his rookie season last summer – and to become the first international player to take this tournament since Gary Player did it in 1990.

Romero looked as steady as ever for most of the round.

He birdied the par-5 seventh for a third straight day and, after his ball skipped through a sand dune and landed in front of the 11th green, Romero lengthened his lead to two shots with a birdie there.

Romero extended it to three with a birdie on the par-3 14th. When Romero found trouble in a sand dune alongside the 15th hole, he simply chipped up to 2 feet and saved par.

Romero, though, could escape problems down the stretch, missing similar putts on both closing holes.

Watson’s run was fueled by consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th holes that got him two shots behind. But a bogey on No. 17 dropped him back. Watson is seeking his first tour victory since winning three PGA Tour titles in 1984.

Ozaki stayed close enough to Romero for most of the round. He fell back, though, when he drove into a dune left of the 15th fairway, could not hack his way out on his next shot and made double-bogey 6.

The Atlantic wind that blasted the course Thursday – and reminded some competitors of what they faced in the 1991 Ryder Cup matches here – were much calmer Saturday.

“Not that it laid down,” said Tom Kite, who shot the tournament’s best round with a 5-under 67. “I mean it always blows here, even when it doesn’t blow.”

Once again, officials shrunk the 17th, this time to 158 yards, its lowest total of the tournament and 39 yards under its scorecard listing.

Divots: Bruce Lietzke opened strongly with four birdies on his first seven holes for front-nine 32. However, he faded with four bogeys on the final nine to finish at even-par 72. … Club pro Bill Schumaker on his first-round 80 played amid 30 mph winds: “I’m from Indiana,” he said. “If we got wind like that we don’t even go outside, let alone play in it.”

AP-ES-05-26-07 1817EDT