The frustration was evident on Phil Mickelson's face during a slow start in the third round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Fort Worth.
Mickelson was feeling a lot better -- and still in the lead -- when he finished the third round Saturday with a 17-foot birdie putt from the front edge at Colonial Country Club.
Mickelson overcame an early bogey and some missed chances with seven birdies in his last 13 holes for a five-under-par 65 that got him to 12-under 198. He led Rod Pampling (63) and Stephen Ames (64) by one stroke.
This is the 27th time Mickelson will lead going into the final round of a tournament. He has gone on to win 19 times, including the Northern Trust Open in February, his only victory this season.
Bernhard Langer held off Jay Haas' late run, which included an eagle on Oak Hill Country Club's No. 17, and took the lead after the third round of the Senior PGA Championship at Rochester, N.Y.
Langer, the Champions Tour money leader, finished with an even-par 70 to put him at two-over 212, a shot ahead of Haas (72) and Jeff Sluman (70).
Jeong Jang shot a three-under 69 in the wind to tie Erica Blasberg for the lead after three rounds at the LPGA Corning Classic at Corning, N.Y.
Jang made a three-foot birdie putt on her final hole to tie Blasberg (70) at seven-under 209. They were one shot ahead of Leta Lindley (70) and Katherine Hull (72).
TENNIS
Sweden wins fourth World Team Cup
Sweden won the World Team Cup at Duesseldorf, Germany, for the fourth time Saturday, winning the doubles to defeat Russia, 2-1.
With the best-of-three series at 1-1, Robin Soderling and Robert Lindstedt beat Mikhail Youzhny and Dmitry Tursunov, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9 after saving a match point at 9-8 in the match tiebreaker.
Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko won the Hypo Group International for a third time, beating defending champion Juan Monaco, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, at Poertschach, Austria. . . . Second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska beat top-seeded Elena Dementieva, 6-3, 6-2, to win the Istanbul Cup and become the first Polish woman to surpass $1 million in career earnings on the WTA Tour.
Andre Begemann of Pepperdine beat Justin Kronauge of Ohio State, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, to reach the semifinals of the NCAA Division I tournament at Tulsa, Okla., but Bassam Beidas of the Waves lost his quarterfinal match to Stanford's Alex Clayton, 6-2, 6-4
