WILMINGTON, Del. — Juli Inkster provided enough sparks Saturday afternoon to light the candles on her 40th birthday cake — three straight birdies to finish off a 6-under 65 that gave her a chance to win yet another major championship.
It wasn't quite as sensational as the eagle-birdie-birdie finish Inkster had last year to win the LPGA Championship and complete the career Grand Slam, but it pulled her out of a pack of players and into a tie for the 54-hole lead with Wendy Ward at 7-under 206.
"Any victory at this stage of my career is gravy," said Inkster, who can become the first player since Patty Sheehan in 1984 to successfully defend an LPGA Championship.
Ward made four straight birdies amidst a wild collapse by Laura Davies for a 3-under 68, putting her in the final pairing of a major championship for the first time. Ward has only one top 10 in a major, a tie for fourth in the LPGA two years ago.
"I have just as good a shot as anyone else to win tomorrow," Ward said.
The longest hitter in women's golf can hit driver at DuPont Country Club more than any other course in America. That finally caught up with Davies in the third round when, despite hitting 30 yards farther than Ward, she started missing fairways at an alarming rate.
While Davies is strong enough to advance the ball out of 4-inch-thick rough, she could not control her shots into the greens and often left herself long, difficult putts for birdie or 10-footers for par.
She finished with a 75 and was at 211, among the eight players within five strokes of the lead.
Jan Stephenson, the 48-year-old Australian who hasn't won in 13 years, had a 2-under 69 and was at 208. Nancy Scranton was another stroke back after a 67.
Karrie Webb, going for the second leg of the Grand Slam and her third straight major championship, bogeyed the last hole for a 69 that left her at 211, five strokes back.
"I'm still in contention," said Webb, who came from five strokes back to win the du Maurier Classic by two shots in August. "That bogey on the last hole makes my job a lot harder tomorrow. I've got to pull out a low one. Hopefully, that will happen tomorrow."
The gallery serenaded Inkster with "Happy Birthday" at every turn, a slight annoyance when she three-putted the first hole for bogey to fall back to even par.
"When you're 5 or 6 under, it sounds a lot better," she said.
St. Jude Classic
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Bob May shot a 2-under-par 69 in windy conditions Saturday to take a for a one-stroke lead over Steve Pate and Notah Begay III after the third round of the St. Jude Classic.
May, who has strung together three straight rounds in the 60s for the first time this year, had six birdies and four bogeys Saturday for a 12-under 201 total. He opened with consecutive 66s.
Begay shot a 67 and Pate had a 70. Chris DiMarco (69) and Joe Ogilvie (70) followed at 203, and Australia's Craig Parry (69) and Russ Cochran (71) were at 204.
After playing in warm but near-perfect conditions the first two days, the wind started gusting and caused plenty of trouble on the back nine where water lies along most of the holes on the TPC at Southwind course.
May, whose best finish on the PGA Tour this year was a tie for 23rd last week in the U.S. Open, nearly blew his lead by bogeying the final two holes. But he had given himself enough of a cushion with his putter with five of his birdies through the first 14 holes.
Cadillac NFL Classic
CLIFTON, N.J. — A guy with a bad back kept Lee Trevino from getting back on the winning track in the Cadillac NFL Classic a year ago.
With his victory drought now at two years, Trevino will have another shot at winning the Cadillac NFL Classic, this time against two guys battling bad backs, defending champion Allen Doyle and television analyst Gary McCord.
Trevino put himself in position to win again for the first time since 1998 when he made a 45-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday for a share of the second-round lead with Doyle.
McCord, who will be in the final group today, is a shot back.
"I'm doing everything quite well now and I think I have a good chance," said Trevino, whose 67 on Saturday put him at 11-under 133 on the Upper Montclair Country Club course.
Trevino made a run at Doyle on the final day last year but he finished third as Doyle beating Joe Inman in a four-hole playoff.
Hubert Green and Walter Morgan were the only other players in the 78-man event within three shots of the lead. They were at 136 after matching 67s.