Sarah Lee shot a near flawless 7-under-par 65 on Saturday to open a two-shot lead over No. 1-ranked Lorena Ochoa after three rounds of the US$1.4 million Sybase Classic, a tournament that has been seemingly been reduced to two-player field.
Lee, who has either led or shared the lead for the first two rounds, was at 16-under 200, the low 54-hole total on the US tour this year. Ochoa is 14 under at the Upper Montclair Country Club.
The next-closest golfers at seven strokes back were the trio of Kate Godlen, South Korea's Jo Young and Sherri Steinhauer at 7 under.
Playing in the final threesome, Lee and Ochoa quickly distanced themselves from the field on a cold, cloudy and rainy afternoon.
Tied at 9 under, Lee birdied four of her first six holes and lost ground. Ochoa outplayed her with three birdies and an eagle at the par-5, 430m fifth hole.
Lee, who led for the opening 36 holes in last week's Michelob Ultra Open in Virginia, eventually took the lead for good with relatively short birdies at the 10th and 11th holes.
When Ochoa birdied the 13th to seemingly cut the lead, Lee answered with a birdie.
Ochoa fell three shots behind after hitting a tee shot into the bunker on the par-3 15th hole, but Lee made her only costly mistake of the round when she missed the fairway to the right on the relatively straight 16th hole.
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