Kelli Kuehne takes narrow lead

Kelli Kuehne must be getting old. Her temper doesn't even get in her way any more.

After starting the third round of the LPGA Corning Classic today with a double bogey, the 23-year-old Texan, the defending champion, just shrugged it off and shot an impressive 67 to take a one-shot lead over Betsy King.

"You make some, you miss some," said Kuehne, who rallied with six birdies to go to 10-under at the turn. "I'm not the least bit disappointed considering the start I got off to."

That start included a putt for par on No. 1 that hit the hole and rolled 8 feet past. She missed again coming back and had to settle for a 6.

"There was nothing I could do about it," said Kuehne, who strung together seven straight pars and finished the day with a birdie on No. 18 after driving into the left rough again. "It's so unlike me (not to get mad), but I had 17 holes to go and I knew I had an opportunity."

Kuehne, who beat Rosie Jones by a single stroke to win the tournament last year, finished the round at 11-under-par 205. Alone in third place another stroke back was Nancy Ramsbottom after a 70.

Pat Hurst also shot a 67 and was tied at 208 with Liz Earley of Canada, who celebrated her 30th birthday with a 68. Sherri Steinhauer, who has eight top-10 finishes this year, also moved into contention with a 66, the best round of the day.

Mi Hyun Kim, who began the day with a two-shot lead over King, Ramsbottom, and Cindy Flom, self-destructed with a 76, as did Flom.

The 23-year-old South Korean, the leader the first two rounds despite coping with a muscle strain in her left shoulder, started with a bogey on No. 1. After rallying with two straight birdies to go to 10-under, disaster soon struck in earnest for her: two bogeys before the turn and a double bogey on No. 10, a 364-yard dogleg right. Another bogey on the par-4, 412-yard No. 13 dropped her six shots behind Kuehne and put her chances of winning for the third time on tour in jeopardy.

The wind, which had gusted during the first two rounds, died down and the soggy Corning Country Club course, soaked by a week of rain, dried out some more under sunny skies. The forecast for Sunday called for a chance of afternoon showers.

A year ago, Kuehne trailed Jones, a two-time winner here, by a stroke entering the final round and won for the only time since joining the tour full-time two years ago. She expected that experience to help on Sunday, when she'll be paired with King, a Hall of Famer.

"It was the first time I had ever played in the leader group," Kuehne said. "I've been in the situation before and I'm very comfortable on this golf course. I definitely think that'll help keep me in a really good state of mind. I'm not going to be laying up and playing conservatively because I have a one-shot lead. I want to win."

King moved within a shot of the lead with two birdies in the first five holes, then pulled her drive into the trees to the left of the fairway on the 307-yard, par-4 No. 6 and finished with a double bogey. But she came right back with two straight birdies and finished the round with another to stay near the top of the leader board.

"I felt I hit it better than I did the first two days," said King, the 1991 Corning winner. "I hit three of the (four) par-5s in two and had some good birdie chances that I didn't make. Hopefully, I can hit it as well tomorrow and make a few more putts."

Ramsbottom, who has never won in 13 full years on tour and is just playing her way back into form after taking a 10-month maternity leave, couldn't help but smile. She shot a 70 despite hitting only a couple of solid drives and had a very real chance for that elusive first victory.

"That made it tough," said Ramsbottom, who had expected this would be her last year on tour because she's in jeopardy of losing her LPGA card. "I did good to shoot under par today. I just want to shoot under par again, and if I happen to get five or six birdies, maybe I'll have a chance to win. I've often thought that maybe I would never win out here, but maybe I'm wrong."

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