Steve Stricker has given himself plenty of chances to win this year, but none quite as good as this.
A burst of birdies at the Barclays carried Stricker to a six-under 65 and allowed him to zoom past K.J. Choi and into the lead on Saturday at the Westchester Country Club, the first time he has held the 54-hole lead in nine years.
Finishing it off for his first victory since 2001 won't be easy.
Choi overcame some errant tee shots on the back nine with a birdie-birdie finish to salvage a 70, leaving him only one shot behind. Hunter Mahan tied a tournament scoring record for the second time in five weeks, this one a nine-under 62 that took him from the middle of the pack to only two shots behind.
And then there was Rich Beem, perhaps the most desperate contender. Needing a top-10 finish to avoid ending his season in the inaugural PGA Tour Playoffs, Beem overcame a rocky start with an eagle on the ninth hole and a 69, giving him his best position in a final round since February.
But it all starts with Stricker, who was at 14-under 199, which tied the 54-hole record at the course.
He played in the final group at the British Open and was tied for the lead going into the back nine at the US Open, fading both times.
OCHOA LEADS BY A SHOT
Lorena Ochoa leads by a stroke going into the final round of the Safeway Classic, after a pair of bogeys to wrap up her Saturday narrowed an advantage over Sophie Gustafson.
Ochoa, who has won two straight tournaments, had eight birdies earlier in her round that helped her finish with a 66, giving her an 11-under 133 after two rounds at Columbia Edgewater County Club.
Gustafson, who shared the lead going into Saturday's round with rookie Oh Ji-young, had a 68 to go to 10-under 134.
Ochoa won the Canadian Women's Open in Edmonton, Alberta, last week. It was her second straight victory and fifth of the season. Her victory at the Women's British Open was her first major title.
After she bogeyed the par-four 17th hole, Ochoa's tee shot went into the trees on the par-four 18th. With her second shot into the rough in front of the green, Ochoa chipped within 3m -- but her putt lipped out for the bogey.
"I'm just happy about being in good position," Ochoa said. "And I'm ready."
Gustafson has not won on the tour since 2003. Her best finish this season was a tie for fifth at the Safeway International. She had five birdies and a bogey on Saturday.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite