Mallon Leads at Edmonton

Meg Mallon shot a three-under-par 69 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Karrie Webb and Pat Hurst after the third round of the du Maurier Classic at Edmonton, the final major championship for women.

Mallon took advantage of soft greens after a five-hour rain delay, surprising the gallery with a birdie on the difficult par-four seventh en route to a 10-under 206 total on the Edmonton Country Club course.

Webb, a 21-year-old Australian, began the round with a four-stroke lead over Mallon at 11-under, but dropped five strokes on the front nine. She rallied on the back nine with three birdies for a round of 74.

Hurst, the LPGA’s 1995 rookie of the year, shot a 68.

Nancy Lopez, winless since the 1993 Youngstown-Warren LPGA Classic, shot a bogey-free 69 to move within two strokes of the lead.

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Justin Leonard made his only mistake early in the third round, then settled down to shoot a three-under-par 69 for a one-stroke lead over Bob Tway in the Buick Open at Grand Blanc, Mich.

Leonard, 24, seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour, made his only bogey on the sixth hole. He then held off every challenge with a deft short game and solid putting to reach 18-under 198.

Dave Stockton Jr., also seeking his first victory, and first-round leader Rick Fehr were three strokes off the pace at 201. Stockton shot a 66, Fehr a 70.

At one point, shortly after the leaders had teed off, there were eight players tied at 12-under. But Leonard and Tway soon began distancing themselves from the pack.

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Frank Conner, looking for his first senior victory, shot a second consecutive five-under-par 65 to take a two-stroke lead over Dave Eichelberger in the VFW Senior Championship at Belton, Mo.

Conner, 50, whose best finish was a tie for fifth in the American Express Invitational, matched Eichelberger on the narrow Loch Lloyd layout before benefiting from a two-shot swing on No. 17 when playing partners Eichelberger and Jim Colbert both took double bogeys.

“I missed a few fairways today,” said Conner, who has 11 birdies and one bogey in the first two rounds. “But it was a good, solid round. Winning my first tournament would do a lot for my confidence, but it’s going to happen some day. It might happen [today].”

Colbert, a native of the area who has either won or finished second in the event four of the past five years, chipped in for birdies on Nos. 5 and 7 and wound up with a 69 that put him alone in third place at 134.