Sabbatini leads as Woods falters

Rory Sabbatini holed out for eagle from the first fairway and picked up even more ground with a birdie on the final hole on a thrilling Saturday at the Wachovia Championship, giving him a share of the course record with an eight-under-par 64 and a final pairing he wanted with Tiger Woods at Charlotte, N.C.

With Woods and Sabbatini tied at 11-under 205, for those who miss the excitement once found at Augusta National, this was the place to be.

Sabbatini, Vijay Singh and Arron Oberholser all made eagle from the fairway, and players jockeyed for position along the back nine with an array of birdies that brought Quail Hollow to life on a gray afternoon of light rain.

And there was one more comparison worthy of the Masters -- Woods took bogey on his final two holes and had to settle for a 68.

But he wasn’t alone.

Phil Mickelson challenged for the lead until a peculiar decision to hit a hybrid from thick grass on the slope above a creek, hitting into the water to take double bogey on the 18th. Oberholser was tied for the lead until his fairway bunker shot found the creek on the 18th, and he finished with a double bogey.

Singh nearly went into the creek, then rolled up his pants to stand in the water and play out of the hazard. He nearly escaped with par, but his 45-foot putt caught the left edge of the cup.

Sabbatini won at Riviera last year and heard murmurs that it wasn’t that great of a victory because Woods had withdrawn on the weekend because of flu.

“He’s here this week -- best opportunity I’ve had to put any of that criticism or doubt aside,” Sabbatini said.

Singh had a birdie-birdie-eagle start to his back nine, wound up with a 69 and was at 207. He will be paired with Oberholser, who had a 69.

Steve Stricker shot 66 and was at 208 with Ken Duke (68).

Mickelson, who chipped in for eagle on the par-five fifth, was still in the hunt after a 68 put him four shots behind.

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Lorena Ochoa’s charge fizzled in the second round of the SemGroup Championship.

Ochoa got off to an eagle-birdie start at Broken Arrow, Okla., but a double bogey at No. 15 spoiled her round and left the top-ranked LPGA star three strokes behind leaders Stephanie Louden, Nicole Castrale, Karin Sjodin and Reilley Rankin.

The four leaders, tied at four-under 138, are all seeking their first LPGA Tour win.

“No matter who is up there, I know that I have played just as well as they have, and I want to win just as much as they do,” said Sjodin, a former Oklahoma State star who leads the tour in driving distance.

Rankin shot a 68, Louden had a 69, Sjodin a 70 and Castrale a 71.

Rankin’s 68 matched Mi Hyun Kim and Young Kim for the low round of the day on a windy, but much drier course at Cedar Ridge Country Club. Mi Hyun Kim and Angela Stanford (71) were one stroke behind the leaders. Se Ri Pak (71), Katherine Hull (69) and Virada Nirapathpongporn (70) were tied for seventh, two strokes off the lead.

Pak, who has 23 career wins, is the only player among the top nine who has more than one career victory.

“There are a lot of great players on the leaderboard, whether they’ve won or not,” said Castrale, who played at USC.

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Scott Hoch moved into position for his first Champions Tour victory, shooting a six-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead over D.A. Weibring into the final round of the FedEx Kinko’s Classic at Lakeway, Texas.

“I haven’t been healthy since I came out here or I think I would have done better,” said the 51-year-old Hoch, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour.

Hoch, the only player in the field without a bogey in the first two days, had an 11-under 133 total on the Hills Country Club course.

Weibring was eight under after his second 68. Hale Irwin (68) and first-round leader Leonard Thompson (73) were seven under.