Golf Roundup : Langer, Gilder Overcome Bogeys to Share Lead

Bernhard Langer and Bob Gilder both survived shaky front nines to emerge as co-leaders after the third round of the $1-million Federal Express St. Jude golf tournament Saturday at Memphis, Tenn.

Langer overcame bogeys on the first and eighth holes of the 7,006-yard Tournament Players Club course to shoot a three-under-par 68, while Gilder offset five bogeys, three on the front nine, with six birdies for a 70. Both were tied at nine-under-par 204.

Billy Ray Brown, who shot a 71, was in third place at 205. Bob Tway and Mike Donald, who each had a share of the lead briefly during the round, were next at 206. Tway shot a 68 and Donald a 69.

Ed Fiori, the second-round leader, soared to a 76 and was four shots back.

Langer, Gilder and Brown all birdied the par-five, 528-yard No. 16 to go nine under par.

But Brown lost his share of the lead when he missed a par-saving 25-foot putt on the 17th hole.

Beth Daniel moved one round closer to her first LPGA tour win since 1985 by shooting a three-under-par 68 to take a four-stroke lead after 36 holes of the Greater Washington Open at Bethesda, Md.

Daniel, who began the day with a one-shot lead, opened with two consecutive birdies. She bogeyed the eighth and 10th holes but recorded birdies on three of the final five holes to finish with a two-round total of 134, eight under par.

Penny Hammel, who also shot a 68, was in second place at 138.

Pam Allen was next at 140 after firing a 68, one shot ahead of five other players, including Pat Bradley.

At Jeremy Ranch, Utah, Tom Shaw shot a four-under-par 68 to take a two-stroke lead in the second round of the U.S. West Showdown Senior PGA Tour event.

Shaw, in his first season on the Senior tour, was at seven-under-par 137.

Dale Douglass, Larry Mowry and Don Bies were tied for second place at 139.

First-round leader Gene Littler struggled to a 75 and was five shots back at 142.

Vicki Goetze used an accurate short game and clutch putting to rally from an early deficit and defeat Brandie Burton, 4 and 3, for the U.S. Women’s Amateur championship at Pinehurst, N.C.

Goetze, 16, from Hull, Ga., sank a 25-foot putt on the 15th hole that clinched the championship.

Burton, 17, of Rialto, was 3 up after four holes. Goetze began her comeback, starting with the par-5 fifth hole, where she sank a 20-footer for a birdie.

Burton consistently outdrove Goetze by as far as 50 yards. But Goetze, having to use fairway woods to reach the greens that Burton would hit with irons, won five of the eight par-fives holes.

Burton’s loss kept her from becoming the first woman to win the U.S. Junior and U.S. Women’s championships in the same year. JoAnne Carner is the only woman to have won both titles in her career.

“Three weeks ago, I won the Junior World, and last week I won the junior and just lost in the final here,” Burton said. “So I think it’s been a pretty good month.”