Inkster celebrates birthday with 65

Juli Inkster provided enough sparks this afternoon to light the candles on her 40th birthday cake -- three straight birdies to finish off a 6-under-par 65 that gave her a chance to win her second consecutive LPGA Championship.

It wasn't quite as sensational as the eagle-birdie-birdie finish Inkster had last year to win the LPGA Championship and complete the career Grand Slam, but it pulled her out of a pack of players and into a tie for the 54-hole lead with Wendy Ward at 7-under 206.

"Any victory at this stage of my career is gravy,'' said Inkster, who can become the first player since Patty Sheehan in 1984 to successfully defend an LPGA Championship.

Ward made four straight birdies amidst a wild collapse by Laura Davies for a 3-under 68, putting her in the final pairing of a major championship for the first time. Ward has only one top 10 in a major, a tie for fourth in the LPGA two years ago.

"I have just as good a shot as anyone else to win tomorrow,'' Ward said.

Jan Stephenson, the 48-year-old Australian who hasn't won in 13 years, had a 2-under 69 and was at 208. Nancy Scranton was another stroke back after a 67.

Karrie Webb, going for the second leg of the Grand Slam and her third straight major championship, bogeyed the last hole for a 69 that left her at 211, five strokes back.

"I'm still in contention,'' said Webb, who came from five strokes back to win the du Maurier Classic. by two shots last August. "That bogey on the last hole makes my job a lot harder tomorrow. I've got to pull out a low one. Hopefully, that will happen tomorrow.''

The gallery serenaded Inkster with "Happy Birthday'' at every turn, a slight annoyance when she three-putted the first hole for bogey to fall back to even par.

"When you're 5 or 6 under, it sounds a lot better,'' she said.

She got there with seven birdies over her last 12 holes, starting with a 25-foot birdie on the seventh and a 4-iron into 2 feet on No. 8.

Just like she did in the final round last year, Inkster saved her best stuff for the closing holes -- a chip to 2 feet for birdie on No. 16, a 7-iron into 12 feet on the 17th, and a 35-foot birdie putt that provided the best present of all on the last hole.

"I got myself back in the ball game,'' Inkster said. "If I have another solid round, I've got a good shot. You definitely have to shoot under par tomorrow. You have to make some birdies.''

Ward got to 8-under on a hot, sticky day with a 4-foot birdie putt on the 15th, but she drove into the trees on the par-5 16th and took bogey.

That was something Davies could relate to all day.

The longest hitter in women's golf can hit driver at DuPont Country Club more than any other course in America. That finally caught up with her in the third round when she started missing fairways at an alarming rate.

While Davies is strong enough to advance the ball out of 4-inch thick rough, she could not control her shots into the greens and often left herself long, difficult putts for birdie or 10-footers for par.

She finished with a 75 and was at 211, among the eight players within five strokes of the lead.

Ward finally caught Davies with an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 8, and seemingly brought several players -- Webb included -- back into the hunt.

Only Ward was just warming up.

She knocked in another 18-footer for birdie on the ninth, a 4-footer on No. 10, and then completed her string with another 18-footer on the 11th. That might be good practice for the final round.

"I have a feeling with Juli and others creeping back into the game, someone is going to shoot a low number,'' Ward said.

The 27-year-old Texan has been around long enough to know what to expect from Inkster, whom she considers the most competitive player on tour.

"She's not going to make a lot of mistakes,'' Ward said.

Inkster has been through this routine before. A victory Sunday would be her sixth in a major, as many as any other active player on the LPGA Tour. Pat Bradley, Betsy King, and Patty Sheehan also have won six.

"Winning this tournament ... you've played the best,'' Inkster said. "Everyone strives to win a major.''

DIVOTS: Inkster and Ward share the same swing coach, Mike McGetrick. ... Ward needed a ruling on her 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th because of what looked like loose impediment in the line of her putt. And it was. "Bird poop,'' she said. ... Pat Bradley and Betsy King, the Hall of Famers who made an appearance on the leaderboard in the first round, returned TOday. Bradley, the Solheim Cup captain, had a 67 to get to 211, while King had a 67 and was at even-par 213.

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