Daly blasts into lead at American Express
John Daly hit one ball so far that it sailed over the green and led to double bogey. He hit another one so far that he had only an 8-iron into the 552-yard 10th hole for an eagle.
Despite a bogey-par-double bogey start, Daly wound up with a 3-under-par 67 in the
''It's a lot of fun, but it's stressful," Daly said. ''It's great to be in this position, but it's not the easiest thing to do."
Montgomerie at least put himself in the final group by bouncing his approach off the mesh skirt of the grandstand on the 18th into deep rough, and following with a deft chip to save par for his 69.
Too bad Tiger Woods's scorecard didn't have a few sketches of the places he saw at Harding Park. He was in the trees, under a car, and hit his last tee shot so far to the right with the wind at his back that it flew over the rough, bounced off a cart path, and went over a 25-foot hospitality tent. It might have gone all the way into the parking lot, except that it bounced off a fan and settled onto the stairs.
From that, he faced a 15-foot birdie putt that made a horseshoe around the cup and gave him 68. He was two shots out of the lead with Sergio Garcia (a bland round of 15 pars and three birdies).
''Pretty much saw most of Harding Park," Woods said about the municipal gem.
Graeme McDowell saw too much of the 18th hole. He was tied for the lead when he stepped to the tee, and after bouncing through the cypress trees, he wound up with a quadruple-bogey 8. ''Golf is a cruel game," he said.
Daly was at 9-under 201, and while he doesn't have a ton of experience with a 54-hole lead, he's pretty good when he's there. Daly has won his last four times from this spot.
LPGA -- Chile's Nicole Perrot moved into position for her first Tour victory, shooting a 7-under 64 to take a three-stroke lead after the third round of the Longs Drugs Challenge in Auburn, Calif.
The 21-year-old Perrot, the 2001 US Girls champion, had a 14-under 199 total on The Ridge Golf Course. She had eight birdies -- four in a row on Nos. 3-6 -- and a bogey in the best round of her first full season on the Tour.
Sweden's Liselotte Neumann (64) and South Korea's Hee-Won Han (66) were 11 under, and Sherri Turner (66), Jennifer Rosales (67), and Sherri Steinhauer (69) followed at 9 under.
Hall of Famers Juli Inkster (67) and Beth Daniel (70) were in a group at 8 under, and Annika Sorenstam was nine strokes back at 5 under after a 71.
Champions -- Rehoboth's Dana Quigley shot a season-best 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Loren Roberts in the Greater Hickory Classic in Conover, N.C.
Quigley, 58, a two-time winner this year who leads the Tour money list with $1,812,298, had a 12-under 132 total. Roberts had a 65.
Quigley and Roberts both finished the rain-delayed first round, which was completed yesterday morning, at 68. But Quigley moved ahead with eight birdies, including a 70-foot putt on the par-3 third hole.
European -- England's John Bickerton (7-under 206) shot a 2-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead over compatriot Stuart Little after the third round of the Abama Open in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
