Defending Champion Lopez’s 69 Ties Daniel for Lead in Florida

Defending champion Nancy Lopez shot a bogey-free 69 to overcome a 3-stroke deficit and tie Beth Daniel for the lead after three rounds of the Ladies Professional Golf Assn. Oldsmobile tournament.

Lopez birdied the 17th hole with a 12-foot putt to pull even with Daniel, who shot even-par 72 for a 54-hole total of 7-under-par 209 on the 6,333-yard Stonebridge Golf and Country Club course.

A hole in one and 4 birdies helped Dottie Mochrie come from 6 strokes off the pace to gain a brief share of the lead. But the second-year pro, looking for her first tour victory, bogeyed No. 18 for a 67 to fall a shot behind Lopez and Daniel.

Jane Geddes (69) and Jody Rosenthal (71) are next at 211. Lopez, with husband Ray Knight standing in for her regular caddy, birdied the first hole to move within 2 shots of Daniel. She also birdied No. 8 to take a share of the lead Daniel built by shooting 69 and 68 in the first 2 rounds.

Mochrie, who earned $137,293 as a rookie last year, got her hole in one on the 11th hole with a 3-iron that bounced twice and rolled into the cup 169 yards away.