Atwal built a three-stroke lead yesterday through three rounds of the PGA Tour’s final pre-playoff event. By shooting a 5-under-par 65 to reach 17-under 193, he has either led or shared the lead after each of the first three days in Greensboro, N.C. Not bad for someone who lost his tour card and had to win a qualifying tournament just to earn a spot.

“I’m not your typical Monday qualifier,’’ Atwal said.

Scott McCarron closed his 63 with four consecutive birdies and was at 14 under, along with Scott Piercy (64) and Lucas Glover (67). Will MacKenzie (65), Garrett Willis (65), David Toms (65), Justin Leonard (66), John Rollins (68), and Brandt Snedeker (69) were at 13 under.

Kevin Na matched the tournament record with a 61 in the morning to reach 12 under.

Atwal, 37, is one good round away from becoming the first Monday qualifier to win since Fred Wadsworth at the 1986 Southern Open.

LPGA — Ai Miyazato, chasing her fifth tour victory of the year, shot a 5-under 67 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Safeway Classic in North Plains, Ore.

Juli Inkster was tied for second at 8 under with Song-Hee Kim (64) and Na Yeon Choi (67) after an apparent 67, but the 50-year-old Hall of Famer was disqualified because she used a weighted “doughnut’’ training aid on her club to stay loose while waiting to make the turn at the 10th hole.

LPGA director of tournament competitions Sue Witters said a television viewer brought the violation of rule 14-3 to the attention of officials.

Inkster was stern-faced and left the course quickly after learning of her disqualification. She issued a brief statement: “I had a 30-minute wait and I needed to loosen up. It had no effect on my game whatsoever, but it is what it is. I’m very disappointed.’’

Champions — Tom Lehman moved into position for his second major victory of the year, shooting a 3-under 69 to take a two-stroke lead in the Jeld-Wen Tradition in Sunriver, Ore. Lehman, the Senior PGA winner in May, overcame a double-bogey 6 on No. 8 with three birdies on the back nine to get to 11 under.

Bernhard Langer, attempting to become the second player to win three consecutive Champions majors, shot a 69 to join Fred Funk and J.L. Lewis at 9 under.