One hole out of 18 showed why Juli Inkster has won a lot of golf tournaments and leads the Longs Drugs Challenge.

Inkster, who began a windy, rainy Saturday with a four-stroke lead, double-bogeyed the par-5 second hole. Half her lead was gone and suddenly the field of challengers was at her heels. But she didn't let that hole ruin her tournament.

"I was more upset than rattled," said Inkster, who superstiously removed her hat after her second hole setback. "I was playing good and I thought I would get some back.

"I hit some good shots and I drove the ball well," she said. "I was just a little off on my club selection and I didn't make any putts.

"It was tough out there," Inkster added. "Hopefully, I got my tough round out of the way. But the course won today. My lead got to one, but I still had the lead and I wanted to hang in there."

Inkster gathered herself to shoot a 2-over-par 74 that gave her a 54-hole score of 6-under-par 210 and a three-stroke lead over Sherri Steinhauer heading into Sunday's final round.

Steinhauer's 69 included a birdie on the 18th en route to the third round's best score. The reigning Women's British Open champion was eight shots back at the start of the day.

Wind gusted to 35 mph during the round and the wind chill factor was 40 degrees.

The changing conditions prevented low scoring as only six players shot under par. Only 10 players will enter the final round under par, five fewer than began the third round under par.

Wendy Doolan, who got within a shot of the lead as Inkster had her early troubles, began to fade on the back nine after Inkster birdied the 12th. Doolan finished with a 74 and was at 214 along with Cristie Kerr, who shot 70.

Annika Sorenstam, who began the round trailing Inkster by six shots, moved to within two shots after three straight early birdies. But the reigning LPGA player of the year began to give back shots as her round progressed, finishing with a 73 to join a group of six at 215.

The logjam at 215 also includes Maggie Will (70), Jill McGill (72), Hiromi Kobayashi (75), A.J. Eathorne (75) and Cindy Figg-Currier (75).

Defending champion Donna Andrews shot her third consecutive 74 and trailed Inkster by 12 strokes.

The $600,000 tournament concludes Sunday.

Divots: After a front-nine 42, Carolyn Hill withdrew because of a shoulder problem. She entered the third round at 6-over-par 150. ... Dorothy Delasin, the only amateur in the field, shot a third-round 76 and was 14 strokes behind. ... Seventh-year pro Angie Ridgeway had a tough three-hole stretch, carding a triple bogey, triple bogey and double bogey on Nos. 2, 3 and 4. She had a front-nine 46, but got it together to play par golf on the back nine for an 82 and 229 total. ... Leigh Ann Mills' 86 was the day's high round and equaled the tournament's worst round.