Brown Just Hopes to Change Ending : LPGA: As she did last year, Nancy Brown leads after third round. But she wants to avoid collapse and win her first title.

Then and now:

A golfer is on the brink of winning her first LPGA tournament. She is alone in first place after three rounds. She collapses on the final day and falls into a tie for 17th. One year later, the golfer returns to the same spot. She is on the brink of winning her first LPGA tournament. She is alone in first place after three rounds. And it’s the final day . . .

Welcome to StoneRidge, and meet Nancy Brown. She is that golfer, in the wonderful, awful position of leading the Red Robin Kyocera Inamori tournament. She shot a two-under-par 69 Saturday and is at eight-under 205 after three rounds.

Missie McGeorge is one stroke back at 206. Cathy Gerring and Kris Monaghan are tied for third, four strokes back at 209.

None of the four leaders have won an LPGA tournament before, but for now at least, it doesn’t seem to matter. People here are wondering one thing:

What’s Nancy thinking?

Questions in the press tent zero in like missiles. Brown smiles, jokes and answers them. Yes, she knows people will have their eyes on her today. No, she didn’t spend much time looking at the leader board Saturday.

You bet your favorite putter she remembers last year. She was breezing along with a seven-under 206, then went out on that fateful Sunday and shot a seven-over 78.

Saturday, she birdied the 17th--the sixth time in the seven she has played it--and that put her eight under.

What was Nancy thinking?

“I had a birdie on 17, so I wasn’t seven-under (like last year),” she said before anyone could ask her a question. “I just want you to know that.”

Brown took the lead from Lenore Rittenhouse on Friday when Rittenhouse went from six under to par. She held it Saturday with three birdies, on the fifth, ninth and 17th holes.

She missed just two greens, the third and fifth. Her birdie on par-five 17 came on a 10-foot putt after she had put herself in the bunker.

McGeorge was her biggest challenge all day, although Patti Rizzo came within two strokes by going five under before two bogeys in the last four holes pushed her back into a tie for fifth at 210. It was Rizzo who overtook Brown in the final round last year at StoneRidge.

“She’s going to be very nervous,” Rizzo said. “I could make a prediction, but I won’t--I’ll save it for (today). If she can keep it going, it might be her turn.”

Brown thinks she can keep it going.

“I feel pretty good right now,” she said. “I was pretty calm today. I feel like I’m swinging well.”

At least she was swinging better than she was in Gerring’s dream Friday night. Gerring, who shot a 67 to tie Rosie Jones for the best round Saturday, said she dreamed Brown hit her ball inside of a house and couldn’t get it out. So in this dream, Gerring walked over and asked Brown, “Is this what happened to you last year, too?”

We are not making this up.

“It was really, really strange,” Gerring said. “I don’t normally remember dreams, but for some reason, I remember that.”

Gerring started the day even and had five birdies, three on the back nine.

McGeorge started the day at four under and had two bogeys in her first five holes before collecting five birdies over the last 13. She birdied 15 with a 25-foot putt and 18 with a 15-footer to stay one stroke behind Brown.

She was in Brown’s threesome and watched on 18 as Brown missed a 12-footer that could have taken her to nine under.

“I’m sure Nancy learned a lot from last year’s experience,” McGeorge said. “She’s playing really well. I don’t expect her to play badly. I’ll have to shoot three or four under to have a chance.”

So, what is Nancy thinking going into today’s final round?

“I’m sure I’ll be nervous,” she said. “I don’t know too many who are leading golf tournaments who aren’t.

“I’m going to have to either block it out of my mind or feed on it.”

LPGA Notes

Ayako Okamoto, who won the tournament in 1987 and 1988, is tied for fifth at 210, three under . . . Patty Sheehan, who has won the tournament three times, is tied for 32nd at 217 . . . Betsy King, winner of the Nabisco Dinah Shore tournament last weekend, double-bogeyed No. 1 and wasn’t able to get lower than three under. She finished two under, tied for ninth at 211. . . . San Diegan watch: Heather Drew (Solana Beach) is tied for 15th at 213, Kathryn Young (Coronado) and Meg Mallon (Ramona) are tied for 56th at 219, and Dee Dee Lasker (San Diego) is tied for 72nd at 221. . . . Starting time this morning is 6:55. As was the case Saturday, three groups will tee off after leader Nancy Brown’s group goes at 8:35 for two reasons: 79 golfers made the cut, and the tournament is being telecast on Prime Ticket.