GOLF ROUNDUP : Mickelson Takes Lead as Blackmar Stumbles

Phil Mickelson gained a three-point lead Saturday when Phil Blackmar made double bogey on the last hole of the twice-delayed third round of the International tournament at Castle Rock, Colo.

And, for the first time in the eight-year history of the event, the third-round lead really mattered.

Because of a format change this year, points will be carried forward to today’s final round.

Previously, points were wiped out after 54 holes and the last-round qualifiers started over from zero. Under that format, only the struggle to gain a place in the 24-man qualifying field mattered.

This time, jockeying for position among the leaders was the central theme, and the biggest shift came on the final hole.

Blackmar was tied for the lead when he plugged his eight-iron second shot in the wet sand of a bunker. He came out 40 feet long and three-putted for double bogey. That cost him three points under the modified Stableford scoring system and dropped him back to second.

Under the points-only system, players gets five points for eagles, two for birdies and none for par. They lose one point for bogey and three for double bogey or worse.

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Dave Stockton had three birdies and an eagle in a four-under-par 68 that gave him a one-stroke lead over Bert Yancey and Dale Douglass after two rounds of the GTE Northwest Classic at Kenmore, Wash.

Stockton, who has a 36-hole total of 133, is going for his fourth Senior tour victory of the year and second in a row.

“That’s the whole object,” Stockton said. “I’m trying to go as low as I can.”

Yancey, who has never won a Senior tour event, had a second-round 65, while Douglass had a 67.

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Cindy Rarick shot a three-under-par 69 and held a one-stroke lead over Jody Anschutz after two rounds of the Minnesota LPGA Classic at Brooklyn Park.

Rarick, who won the 1991 event, headed into the final round of the tournament at Edinburgh USA with an eight-under 136 total.

Rarick had five birdies and survived a bogey on No. 17 to take the lead from first-round pacesetter Dana Lofland-Dormann.