Mathew Goggin, who is seeking his first win on the US PGA Tour, fired a one-under 71 for a three-shot lead after the third round of the US$6 million Memorial Tournament on Saturday.
Heading into the final round at Muirfield Village, the Aussie was at eight-under 208.
Canadian Mike Weir, England’s Justin Rose and Americans Kenny Perry, Matt Kuchar and Jerry Kelly were in a five-way tie for second at five-under 211.
Goggin compiled a three-stroke lead with two birdies in the first three holes before bad weather stopped play for 2 hours, 25 minutes.
The delay, because of a threat of lightning, appeared to stymie his momentum. He made just one birdie the rest of the day.
Goggin kept his mistakes to a minimum, however, making only two bogeys, to end the day in a great position to win the event.
■ GINN TRIBUTE
AFP, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
Sophie Gustafson seized sole possession of the lead at the LPGA Ginn Tribute on Saturday, firing a five-under 67 that gave her a six-shot cushion.
Sweden’s Gustafson had five birdies as well as an eagle at the par-five third hole, moving to 18-under 198 through three rounds.
She had a comfortable lead over overnight co-leader Karrie Webb, a Hall of Famer from Australia, and South Korean rookie Choi Na-yeon.
Gustafson, who had been alone in first on Thursday, then ended the second round tied with Webb, was able to overcome a double-bogey at the 12th.
Webb had two birdies through the first nine holes, but struggled coming home.
The 35-time US LPGA Tour winner bogeyed four of the first six holes after the turn, before stopping the rot with a birdie at 16. She finished with a 73 for 204, level with Choi, who posted a 68.
Choi opened with birdies at two of her first three holes, then eagled the fifth. She birdied 10, but gave a shot back with a bogey at 16.
■ WALES OPEN
AFP, NEWPORT, WALES
Scott Strange of Australia overcame a dizzy spell to lead the way by three strokes on Saturday going into the final round of the EPGA Wales Open on the par 71 Celtic Manor Resort course.
Buoyed by his opening round 63, Strange carded a two-under 69 to motor three shots clear of Spaniard Alvaro Velasco, with Indian Jeev Milkha Singh, Swede Robert Karlsson and Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin a shot further back.
But Strange was relieved to have managed to get through the day at all as the 31-year-old Australian lost just one stroke of his four-shot start-of-day advantage.
“Maybe I just need to lie down. For some reason I felt funny down the 14th and when I got on the 15th tee,” Strange said. “I felt I was going to fall over and throw up.”
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Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
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