Golf Roundup : Trevino Falters; Langer, Wadkins Tie for Lead

U.S. Masters champion Bernhard Langer of West Germany and Lanny Wadkins, the U.S. Player of the Year, both shot four-under-par 68s Saturday to share the third-round lead in the Million Dollar Challenge at Sun City, South Africa, with 207s.

Langer and Wadkins were two strokes ahead of Lee Trevino, the overnight leader, who shot a 71.

Taiwan’s T.C. Chen shot a 69 to move into fourth place at 211, a stroke ahead of Mark O’Meara (71), with South Africa’s Denis Watson a stroke further back at 213 after a 68.

Defending champion Severiano Ballesteros of Spain was at 215 after a 70, with David Graham of Australia at par 216 after his 70. The struggling U.S. PGA champion, Hubert Green, was at the back of the elite 10-man pack at 220 after shooting a 70.

In the 54-hole women’s tourney, worth a total of $125,000, Patti Rizzo beat Muffin Spencer-Devlin on the second sudden-death playoff hole after both finished tied at 216. Rizzo took home a first prize of $65,000.

Kathy Baker shot a final-round 69 for a 223, while South African Alison Sheard was fourth at 226 after a 73, and Barb Thomas was well back at 229 with a closing 72.

Larry and Laurie Rinker recorded seven birdies in shooting a five-under-par 67 for a one-shot lead after three rounds of the $600,000 Mixed Team tournament at Largo, Fla.

The brother-sister combination overcame consecutive bogeys on the front nine to stand at 201. Mark McCumber and Chris Johnson also fired a 67 for a total of 202.

Three teams--Scott Hoch and Jane Blalock, Craig Stadler and Lori Garbacz, and Curtis Strange and Nancy Lopez--were at 204.

“We made our first two bogeys of the tournament today, and they came back-to-back,” said Laurie, 23, who is five years younger than Larry. “We made a couple of bad mistakes, but neither one of us really got down. In fact, those bogeys gave us a kick in the rear end and actually got us going.”

McCumber and Johnson also had seven birdies.

Two-time champion Patricia Cornett of Greenbrae defeated Kris Neiman of San Jose, 3 and 2, to advance to the final of the 19th California Women’s Amateur golf championship at the Pebble Beach Golf Links on the Monterey Peninsula.

Cornett, a 31-year-old U.S. Army doctor from San Francisco’s Letterman Hospital, said she’ll have to play “a whole lot better” to win against Anne Sander, 48, of Pauma Valley in the final.

Sander was three under par through the 15 holes it took her to defeat Shelly Rule, 24, of Indian Wells in the other semifinal.

Corey Pavin shot a three-under-par 70 en route to a five-stroke lead after three rounds of the New Zealand Open championship at Christchurch.

The defending champion had a 54-hole total of 204. Bob Charles of New Zealand, who also shot a 70, was in second place at 209.