Stephenson Takes Lead With a 67 : Golf: She almost withdrew because of bronchitis, but now she’s in position to win for the first time since 1987.

Jan Stephenson is suffering from bronchitis. She didn’t play a practice round in preparation for the Los Coyotes LPGA Classic and seriously considered withdrawing from the tournament.

Nonetheless, Stephenson has persevered, so much so that she moved to the top of the leader board on Saturday.

Stephenson shot a five-under-par 67 for a 54-hole score of 207, nine under, that gave her a two-stroke lead over Donna Andrews.

Betsy King, who shared the lead with Hollis Stacy after the second round, is three strokes behind Stephenson and tied with Meg Mallon at six under par.

Stephenson, 40, has 16 victories but hasn’t won on the tour since 1987.

She injured her neck in a car accident in Miami in 1987. Three years later, in the same city, she was mugged.

Her assailant broke Stephenson’s left ring finger in two places while wrenching the ring from her hand.

Stephenson said two screws are still in her finger, and she can’t straighten it.

“I love Florida,” Stephenson said wryly. However, she is going to live in Miami to be close to teaching pro David Leadbetter.

Stephenson had eight birdies and three bogeys and finished with a flourish. Her sand wedge approach shot on the par-five, 18th hole landed four feet from the cup, where she made her putt for a birdie.

It was an impressive round for someone who didn’t even see the course until Thursday.

“I definitely love to play,” Stephenson said, “and I hate not being in contention.”

She is now.

Like Stephenson, Andrews moved up the leader board. Andrews, from Pinehurst, N.C., shot a 68.

She is in her third year on the LPGA tour and finished third in the U.S. Women’s Open last July at Oakmont, Pa.

Andrews had 10 birdies and seven bogeys in her first two rounds.

“Today, I got rid of the bogeys, the 25-year-old pro said.

King, who has 27 career victories, three short of requirement for the LPGA Hall of Fame, shot a 72.

“I just had ‘shortitis,’ ” King said.

“Obviously, I would have liked to play better. It doesn’t matter how well you hit the ball, you have to make some putts.”

Tani Tatum, the first-day leader with a 66, was still in contention after the second round--one stroke behind the leaders.

However, Tatum, who grew up on a cattle ranch in Bishop, had her problems on Saturday.

She hit a ball into a tree on the fourth hole, and the ball wasn’t located. She managed to salvage a bogey at that hole, but her round got progressively worse--a 41-38--79.

Stacy also had her problems. A co-leader with King on Friday, she shot a four-over-par 76.

Mallon, who won four tournaments in 1991, including the LPGA Championship and U.S. Women’s Open, is in contention after her third-round 69.

She hasn’t won this year, but she has earned $343,672 coming into the Los Coyotes tournament.

“I have to be happy with my consistency this year,” Mallon said, “but I would like that feeling again (winning).”

Golf Notes

Vicki Fergon got off to a fast start Saturday. She got a birdie on the par-five first hole and then a hole in one on the par-three, 150-yard second hole. However, she faltered thereafter, finishing with a 75--217 for three rounds. . . . Pat Bradley, the defending champion, is eight strokes behind Jan Stephenson. She had a 74 on Saturday. Nancy Lopez, who won the Los Coyotes tournament in 1989 and 1990, is at 216 after a 70 on Saturday. . . Amy Alcott, who who has 29 victories and needs one more to get into the Hall of Fame, is at 215 after three rounds.