Keggi’s 68 Gives Her Lead at Buena Park : Golf: Lopez, Briles falter in third round. Leader has never won an LPGA tournament.

If she was nervous Saturday, there was no indication from Caroline Keggi.

Playing with Nancy Lopez and Jill Briles, with whom she shared the lead going into the third round of the LPGA tournament at Los Coyotes Country Club, Keggi made birdies while her playing partners made enough bogeys to drop from contention and put her alone in front going into the today’s final round at Buena Park.

“I knew I would be playing with Nancy and all of Los Angeles would be with us, but I like playing with the veterans because I can learn something from them,” Keggi said after shooting a 68 for a 54-hole total of 207, nine under par.

“I was nervous out there. I told Jill after the first nine holes that I couldn’t believe I was still nervous.”

And her plans for Saturday night? A good night’s sleep? Practice? Biting nails?

“I think I’m going to go to the movies. I want to see ‘Postcards From The Edge,’ ” Keggi said.

Cathy Gerring, who began the day at three under par, two strokes off the lead, had four birdies and no bogeys for a 68 to move into second at 209.

“I thought Caroline handled the big crowd well out there today, because it’s tough sometimes playing with all the attention that Nancy brings,” said Gerring, who doesn’t have to worry about playing with Lopez today.

Lopez faltered, shooting 74 for a 213 total. Briles’ day was worse. She shot a 77 for a 216.

Gerring played Saturday’s round with another Nancy--Nancy Brown--with whom she was tied at the start of the day. Brown took off fast, making three consecutive birdies and adding another on the fifth hole to tie Keggi at seven under par. But a double-bogey on the 12th hole and two more on the final two holes dropped Brown to 212.

“Nancy and I kind of fed off each other early, and it was a shame to see her finish like she did after the round she had,” Gerring said.

Tied with Lopez at 213 are Danielle Ammaccapane and Cindy Rarick.

Lopez was shaky in the beginning, barely saving par on the second hole and then bogeying No. 3--a 455-yard par five. But when she holed No. 5 for a birdie with a 15-yard chip, she seemed to be fairly solid, birdieing No. 7 to move to six under.

But on the back nine, Lopez had trouble. “I hit well, but I second-guessed some putts and there were a couple of short ones that I missed,” said Lopez. “I read the putts to break to Malvern (Avenue, which runs by the course), but then I didn’t trust them. I closed the face of the club and opened it. Sometimes I let my hands take over, and I need to trust my putter, trust myself.”

Lopez had three consecutive bogeys on Nos. 12-14 to stay at three under par the rest of the way.

“I feel I am hitting well enough. I just need to be aggressive,” said Lopez, the defending champion.

Keggi, whose best finish in her two years on the tour was a playoff with Gerring in August, got off to a fast start, birdieing Nos. 2 and 3 and making a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 10 to take the lead at eight under par. She sank a two-foot putt to birdie No. 13, bogeyed No. 14 when she hit a four-iron over the green and made a 20-foot putt on No. 16 to finish at nine under.

“I really only hit two bad shots all day: my approach to 14 and my tee shot on 18,” Keggi said.

Said Lopez: “Caroline is a long-ball hitter. She can reach all the greens.”

But she also has a good short game.

“There was no pressure on any part of my game today,” Keggi said. “When I missed a shot, I didn’t have to worry about my short game.”

Gerring, a 29-year-old from Dublin, Ohio, earned her first LPGA victory this season at Hershey, Pa., and her second title came at Stratton Mountain, Vt., in a playoff with Keggi.

“Caroline and I are good friends. We were at Ohio State together before she transferred (to the University of New Mexico),” Gerring said. “If I can’t win tomorrow, then I hope she does.”

Gerring had her best years in 1986 and 1987, when she finished 17th and 21st, respectively, on the money list. But she took off 1988 to have a child, Zachary, and said she is just now getting her game back together.

Keggi seems to have no distractions. But then she has never been in this position before, leading going into the final round.