Furyk hopes to beat rain, field of many challengers

Jim Furyk hit a 7-iron that landed softly on the 16th green and trickled within 2 feet of the cup, a birdie that allowed him to get his nose in front Saturday at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C.

Now comes the finishing stretch on what figures to be a sloppy track.

Furyk did just enough on a rain-softened Quail Hollow to shoot a 4-under-par 68, giving him a one-shot lead over South Africans Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman and a good chance to redeem a bitter playoff loss a year ago.

“I’m happy with the way I played,” said Furyk, who was at 11-under 205 and was the only player to shoot in the 60s all three days. “I’m happy to be out front at this point. I’ve got another round of golf tomorrow and I need to attack the golf course again and try to post one more good round.”

What defines a good round remains to be seen.

The forecast has so much rain that starting times have been moved up five hours with hopes of finishing. That figures to make Quail Hollow softer – and longer – and create a wide-open race among the 10 players within five shots of the lead.

“I think we all wish it would be nice, hot, sunny and beautiful,” Furyk said. “But it’s not going to be, so you adjust.”

Some of the scoring was plenty hot in the third round.

Goosen made seven birdies on the back nine and was thrilled to escape with a bogey on the 18th hole after driving into the creek that meanders down the left side of the fairway.

That gave him a 65 and left him one shot behind, along with Immelman, who birdied the 18th for a 66.

Bo Van Pelt had a three-shot lead going into the third round, but he opened with a bogey and followed with eight straight pars, eventually settling for a 73 that allowed several players into the mix.

LPGA

Angela Stanford got her putter working and shot a 6-under 66, building a four-shot lead after three rounds at the Franklin (Tenn.) American Mortgage Championship.

Stanford entered the day ahead by one stroke at Vanderbilt Legends Club’s Ironhorse Course. She responded with 27 putts in a seven-birdie, one-bogey round that featured five straight birdies to put her at 18-under 198.

Now the woman who led wire to wire in winning her only other title in 2003 can join Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa in that category this year.

Cristie Kerr (66) and Sophie Gustafson (68) are tied at 202. Pat Hurst is tied at 203 (66) with Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (70) and Ji Yeon Lee (67). Ochoa (67) and Karrie Webb (70) are at 205.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., who shot 66 Friday, carded a 73 and is tied for 16th at 208.

Champions Tour

Mark McNulty shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-shot lead over Dick Mast and Brad Bryant heading into the final round of the Regions Charity Classic at Hoover, Ala. McNulty finished at 10-under 134, parring the par-5 closing hole after dropping a stroke on No. 17 when he hit his second shot into the water.

He hasn’t finished higher than 10th in eight events this season.

Asian Tour

Michelle Wie’s first chance to play a post-cut round in a men’s tournament got washed out.

Heavy rain and strong winds forced the cancellation of the third round of the SK Telecom Open at Incheon, South Korea, where the 16-year-old American is six strokes off the lead after making the cut in a men’s tournament for the first time Friday. The event will be shortened from 72 holes to 54.