Hee Won Han moves two shots clear

Hee-Won Han couldn't ask for a better pairing in the final round of the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

Han will chase her fourth career LPGA victory while playing with fellow South Korean Jeong Jang, her closest pursuer and also one of her closest friends.

"I think it's really going to be fun," Han said after shooting a 5-under 66 Saturday for a two-stroke lead over Jang. "We both know Korean, so we don't have to speak English."

Han has been on the LPGA Tour for the past six years and is fluent in English, but she's still more comfortable in her native tongue.

"I still like speaking Korean," she said with a grin.

After parring 11 holes in a row, Han rolled in birdie putts on two of the last three holes to forge her lead. Starting the day a shot behind Beth Daniel, she now is at 11-under 202.

Jang, who shot a 67 and is at 204, felt the same way about being in the group with Han.

"We played a lot of times together in junior tournaments," she said. "We played on our national team together. Most of the times, she was better. She was a very good amateur."

Defending champion Meg Mallon and 50-year-old Marilyn Lovander -- winless in 180 career LPGA Tour starts - were 8 under after 68s. Leta Lindley was alone in fifth place at 7 under after a 68.

U.S. Women's Open champion Birdie Kim (71), Sung Ah Yim (68), Heather Bowie (69) and Becky Morgan (68), who shared the first-round lead with Kim, were all at 6 under.

The 48-year-old Daniel had a double bogey on the last hole for a 73. Trying to break her own mark as the oldest ever to win an LPGA event, she's at 208.

Han birdied three of the first four holes, hitting an 8-iron to 6 feet at No. 1, a 7-iron to 10 feet at No. 2 and an 8-iron to 4 feet at No. 4. She saved par twice on the front side and then had routine two-putt pars the rest of the way until she got to the par-4 16th hole.

Her 7-iron approach ended up 8 feet away and a look of relief spread across her face as she finally hit a birdie putt to break a deadlock with Jang, with whom she played junior golf.

At the closing hole, she hit a solid drive and laid up with her second shot on the par-5 hole before hitting a gap wedge to 5 feet and holing the putt.

"I just want to play tomorrow like (I played) today," she said.

Her caddie, Shaun Clews, said Han was never in trouble.

"She was within 12 to 15 feet for birdie all day long, apart from saving par at the seventh and ninth holes," he said. "About every hole she had a chance for birdie. She was hitting them in there pretty good."

Four players had at least a share of the lead in the third round: Daniel, Mallon, Jang and Han.

Mallon birdied the first three holes to climb past Daniel but played the final 15 holes in even-par.

"Hopefully Hee-Won didn't get too far away from us today," Mallon said. "You never know. This course seems to yield one or two low rounds a day -- 5 or 6 or 7 under."

Jang began the day two strokes behind Daniel but turned in 3-under 31 and then had back-to-back birdies at Nos. 12 and 13 to get to 10 under. She failed to get up and down from the back fringe at the next hole, however, and then couldn't muster a birdie down the stretch.

Lovander was born in Minnesota and lives in Florida but plays her best golf in the Buckeye state. Her two best finishes on tour have come in the last year, both in Ohio. She shot a 67 in the second round of the Farr a year ago and ended up tied for ninth, then had a career-best tie for sixth at the Wendy's Championship for Children in suburban Columbus last August.

She said she'd accept -- but didn't expect -- charity to finally get a Tour win.

"I hope they all feel bad for me tomorrow and three-putt every hole so I can win, but I don't think that's going to happen," Lovander said.

The 50-year-old said a win would be worth the wait.

"It would mean everything to me right now," she said. "I don't plan on doing this for that many years, so a three-year (Tour) exemption would be wonderful. So would a win before I retired."

Brittany Lang, making her pro debut, shot a 72 and was at 209. Amateur Morgan Pressel had a 69 and was at 212.

Carri Wood aced the second hole on the way to 69 that left her with a three-day total of 209.

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