GOLF ROUNDUP : Singh Storms to the Lead at World Series of Golf

Vijay Singh strung together five birdies on the front side to storm past Jim Gallagher Jr. and take a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the World Series of Golf at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

The 32-year-old native of Fiji, seeking his third victory on the PGA Tour this season, was at 5-under 205 through 54 holes on the South Course.

Singh started the day three strokes behind Jim Gallagher Jr. and tied with Ernie Els and Ted Tryba for fourth place.

“I wasn’t really trying to shoot a good number,” Singh said. “I just wanted to make good contact with the ball.”

After saving par on No. 1, he started his streak. He rolled in a 25-footer at No. 2, an 8-footer at 3 and a 10-footer after hitting a 180-yard 8-iron through a gap in the trees on 4. On the 210-yard, par-3 5th, he hit into the bunker but holed it from 60 feet. He closed the run by hitting an 8-iron within four feet at 6.

A birdie at 11 got him to six under and a three-stroke lead, but he bogeyed 17 after spinning his approach off the front of the green. At 18, he missed a 2 1/2-foot putt for birdie, making the 3-foot comeback putt for par and his 65.

Gallagher, who led after each of the first two rounds, shot a 70 and was at 207. He was tied with defending champion Jose Maria Olazabal, who birdied two of the last three holes for a 69.

Singh said he was more concerned about his own ability to hold the lead.

“Tomorrow will be difficult for me because I haven’t led a tournament for a long time,” Singh said. “I’ll try not to think about the lead as much, trying to protect it. I want to play my normal game.”

Billy Mayfair was alone in fourth after a 70 that put him at 208. U.S. Open champion Corey Pavin shot a 66 that put him at 210 along with 1994 player of the year Nick Price.

PGA champion Steve Elkington was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard after shooting a 72 that gave him a 213.

British Open winner John Daly had a 71 and was at 222 and Masters champion Ben Crenshaw shot a 75 to finish at 226.

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Jenny Lidback, 32, a multilingual Peruvian-born Swede who lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., mastered the hard, brown greens at Beaconsfield Golf Club in Montreal to shoot a four-under-par 68 at the $1-million du Maurier Classic. At eight-under 208, Lidback held a one-shot lead over Sweden’s Liselotte Neumann, 29, after 54 holes on a sun-baked course.

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Isao Aoki shot a six-under-par 66 for a two-stroke lead over Bob Charles, Hale Irwin and Mike McCullough after the second round of the Bank of Boston Senior Classic in Concord, Mass.