Park vaults into lead with 65

Grace Park closed with an eagle and two birdies for a 7-under-par 65 and a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the Wachovia LPGA Classic on Saturday.

Park's 17-under 199 is a 56-hole record of the event, two strokes better than Michelle Ellis' 201 in 2002.

Second-round leader Jill McGill is one stroke behind after a 2-under 70, and Soo-Yun Kang (68) is another shot back at 201. Laura Diaz (67) is three strokes off the pace, and Nancy Scranton (67) and Lorena Ochoa (69) are at 204.

McGill, who entered the round with a three-stroke lead, had two bogeys and a birdie on the front nine and three birdies on the back, briefly trading the lead with Kang. But neither player was able to seize control.

Park, who fell off the pace with a bogey at No. 13, rebounded with a birdie at the 14th and then made eagle at the par-5 16th, hitting a 3-wood from the rough about 210 yards away to 10 feet.

She rolled in a 5-foot putt for birdie at the 17th and made a 4-footer for birdie at the closing hole.

Diaz briefly took the lead with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12, but bogeyed the 17th and lost the lead.

Players used umbrellas and ice wrapped in towels to combat the 89-degree temperatures as the heat index reached 94.

Diaz said coping with the heat was "the biggest challenge of the day."

"I think we haven't played in (the heat) for so long, it's a real big shocker," she said.

It was the second straight record-setting day at Berkleigh Country Club. McGill set a two-round record on Friday with a 130, breaking Moira Dunn's 2001 mark by four strokes. Suzann Pettersen tied the tournament's single-round record with 63 and was tied for second after two rounds before struggling with a 75 Saturday.

The starting times for Sunday's final round were moved up because of the forecast for rain late in the afternoon. Players will start at from the first and 10th tees, with the leaders expected to tee off at 10:30 a.m.

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