FORT WORTH, Texas—The frustration was evident on Phil Mickelson’s face during a slow start in the third round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational.

Lefty was feeling a lot better—and still in the lead alone—when he finished the third round Saturday with a 17-foot birdie putt from the front edge.

“A nice way to finish the round,” Mickelson said.

Mickelson overcame an early bogey and some missed chances with seven birdies in his last 13 holes for a 5-under 65 that got him to 12-under 198. He led Rod Pampling (63) and Stephen Ames (64) by one stroke.

Pampling was on pace for a record-tying round at Colonial, the course near the Australian native’s Flower Mound home that he gets to play often. But he had consecutive bogeys at 16 and 17 before hitting his approach at No. 18 within a foot for a birdie that left him two strokes off the tournament record.

Ames started with three birdies in the first four holes and finished without a bogey.

Tim Clark (64) was alone in fourth, three strokes back. Ben Crane (67), Kevin Sutherland (68) and Brian Gay (69) were at 203.

This is the 27th time Mickelson will lead going into the final round of a tournament, and this time he will be going for his second plaid jacket at Colonial. He has gone on to win 19 times, including the Northern Trust Open in February, his only victory this season.

The last six Colonial champions led or were tied for the lead after 54 holes. The last time that didn’t happen was 2001, when then-defending champion Mickelson and Brett Quigley were tied going into the final round before Sergio Garcia won.

After hitting his first shot of the day into a fairway bunker and having to settle for par 5 on the opening hole, Mickelson was less than 30 yards from the flag after a 333-yard drive at No. 2. But he flubbed the chip shot, leaving it in the rough short of the green then two-putted from inside 8 feet for bogey.

When an 11-foot birdie chance at the 467-yard 3rd slid by the hole, after hitting a low-liner from the rough that rolled up near the flag, Mickelson shook his head in disbelief. The frustration didn’t go away when a 24-foot birdie try at the difficult 252-yard par-3 4th stopped just short.

While Mickelson struggled early, Pampling and Ames were off to fast starts.

By time Mickelson first saw a scoreboard after finishing his fifth hole, Pampling was already three strokes ahead of him at 9 under.

“I was behind quite a bit,” Mickelson said. “It’s tough to be patient when I’m watching guys shoot 4 or 5 under through nine.”

The first birdie for Mickelson finally came after his approach to 5 feet at the 394-yard 6th. But he missed an 8-footer on the next hole.

Mickelson hit his approach at No. 9 within 6 inches for a tap-in, the first of three consecutive birdies that got him to 10 under. He knocked his second shot at 10 to 5 feet, and blasted from a greenside bunker at the 611-yard 11th to about 4 feet.

A bogey followed at No. 12, when he decided to chip instead of putt from the front fringe and knocked it 8 feet past the cup. He saved par out of the greenside bunker at the par-3 13th by hitting inside 3 feet before two more birdies, with approach shots inside 10 feet at Nos. 14 and 15.

Pampling rolled in 17-foot birdies at Nos. 1 and 3, then knocked his tee shot at the long par-3 inside 4 feet. When he made an 8-footer at No. 14, he was 12 under.

But Pampling caught a bit of bad luck on the par-3 16th when the green didn’t hold his tee shot, then he two-putted from 19 feet after chipping back. His tee shot at the 17th was way right into the trees, through he managed to get his second shot into a greenside bunker.



Senior PGA Championship

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Steady Bernhard Langer held off Jay Haas’ late run, which included a stunning eagle on Oak Hill Country Club’s No. 17, and took the lead after the third round of the Senior PGA Championship on Saturday.

Langer, the Champions Tour money leader, finished with an even-par 70 to put him at 2-over 212 for the tournament, a shot ahead of Haas and local favorite Jeff Sluman.

Haas vaulted into contention with an eagle-2 from the rough on the second-to-last hole, but then closed with a bogey to cap a 72. Sluman was among the leaders, but was undone by closing with three straight bogeys for a 70.

Scott Simpson and Bill Britton were tied at 216 and Greg Norman was part of a four-man group at 217. Otherwise, there’s no one else close entering the final round of the $2 million tournament at an ever-stingy East Course that’s surrendered only nine sub-par rounds over the first three days.

The field opened up significantly with only eight players within six shots of the lead. That comes after the day began with 25 players within six shots of the lead once held by Tom Purtzer, who tumbled down the leaderboard after shooting an 82 that put him in a tie for 25th.

Langer and Sluman spent most of the day tied for the lead and appeared in a position to run away from the field after the playing partners both scored birdies on the 14th and 15th holes. That put them five shots up on the nearest contender.

Then came an uncharacteristic collapse when both carded bogeys on 16 and 17.

Sluman added another bogey on 18, and Langer nearly did so too if not for a clutch 6-foot putt to save par.

Haas, in the meantime, went on a roll after struggling through a round that appeared to be going nowhere, and had him sitting 4-over for the day through 14 holes.

After a birdie-2 on No. 15, Haas produced one of the best clutch shots of the tournament after his tee shot at 17 landed in thick rough left of the fairway about 162 yards from the pin. Haas then hit a perfect shot that skipped through the narrow opening to the green and rolled directly into the hole.



LPGA Corning Classic

CORNING, N.Y.—Jeong Jang shot a 3-under 69 in the wind Saturday to tie Erica Blasberg for the lead after three rounds at the LPGA Corning Classic.

Jang sank a 3-foot birdie putt on her final hole to tie Blasberg (70) at 7-under 209. They were one shot ahead of Leta Lindley (70) and Katherine Hull (72).

Song-Hee Kim (70) was another stroke behind in fifth, and Mi Hyun Kim (68) was in a tie for sixth with Sung Ah Yim (70), Seo-Jae Lee (71), Sun Young Yoo, and Meredith Duncan (71). Dina Ammaccapane began the day with a one-shot lead but shot a 76 and was five shots behind.

Janice Moodie (77), seeking her third career victory and first since 2002, was just one shot behind at the start. But any chance she had disappeared after five bogeys and a double bogey dropped her to par with three holes to play.

Young Kim shot 20 under to win last year, but the difficult weather has played havoc all week and Sunday’s winner will fall far short of that. Temperatures were in the mid-60s again under partly sunny skies, but the wind was gusting to more than 20 mph.

Blasberg faltered with bogey at the first hole, a 402-yarder with a slight dogleg right and the most difficult hole at Corning Country Club. She rebounded, though, with eagle at the par-5 second hole and followed with three more birdies to make the turn with the lead at 9 under.

Blasberg’s surge ended when she pulled a 2-foot par putt left of the hole and made bogey at the par-3 11th hole. Then she missed a 10-foot putt for par at 13 to drop into a tie with Jang and Lindley at 7 under. Blasberg’s putter failed her again at the par-5 14th when she missed just left on a short birdie try and she parred out to retain a share of the lead.

Jang, who had two bogeys and four birdies on the front nine, reached 7 under with birdie at No. 10 and made a nice par save at 14 after her third shot landed on the back edge of the massive, undulating green. Jang’s string of five straight pars ended when her second shot at 16 was short and she two-putted for bogey.

Jang almost got that shot back at 17, but her birdie putt rolled around the rim and somehow didn’t fall.

Hull moved into contention for her first career win with a pair of 20-foot birdie putts on her final two holes.

“I didn’t really capitalize,” said Hull, who was 8 under on the par-5s through three rounds. “It was nice to finish that way.”

Ammaccapane, in her 330th career start and still searching for her first career tour victory, got off to a rocky start. She made bogey at No. 3 and double bogey on the fourth hole and was four shots behind halfway through the round. After a bogey at 11, she made four straight pars before a double bogey at 16 dearly hurt her chances.

Sandra Gal (76) found out quickly just how tricky the course again was playing in the wind. After making three birdies on her first five holes to reach 7 under, Gal had a three-putt triple bogey at No. 6, a bogey at No. 7, and another triple bogey at the 10th hole to fall to even par.

Paula Creamer (71), third on the year’s money list with two victories, seemed poised to make a run after a birdie at No. 12 dropped her to 3 under. But her second shot at the par-4 13th landed in the rough to the left of the undulating green. She then arced a chip a good 15 feet past the pin and three-putted for double bogey.

“I only hit nine greens today, and when you do that it’s very hard to make a big move for birdies,” she said. “It’s not what I expected of myself. The golf course is playing hard, but it’s mainly me.”

Sherri Turner, the 1988 Corning winner, is most likely playing this event for the final time as she contemplates retirement. She shot 73 and was 1 over after three rounds.