Love (63) Two Shots Behind Woods

The good news for Davis Love III is that he put himself in position Saturday for yet another chance to win the Bay Hill Invitational at Orlando, Fla. All he has to do now is figure out a way to beat Tiger Woods.

In deceptive, swirling wind that made it difficult to choose the right club, Woods overcame an early bogey for a five-under-par 67 that gave him a two-stroke lead over Love going into the final round.

Under a brief downpour at the end of a hot, blustery day, Woods made his fourth solid par save out of thick rough on the 18th to maintain his cushion. He was at 16-under 200.

Love, who shot a nine-under 63, made two eagles on the back nine, chipped in twice and holed two long putts from the fringe.

Now comes the hard part. Woods cruised to a four-stroke victory over Love in the Tour Championship last October, then whipped him in match play in the unofficial Grand Slam of Golf in Hawaii. The most crushing blow came last month in the Match Play Championship, in which Love didn’t win a hole as Woods recorded a 5-and-4 victory in the semifinals.

“If anybody starts beating you like that, you start thinking, ‘Can I beat him?’ And he thrives on that,” Love said. “He’s No. 1--there’s no getting around that. And he’s hard to beat--there’s no getting around that.”

Woods’ chief challenger Saturday was Mike Weir, who bogeyed two of the first three holes and scrambled for a 72, which left him six strokes back at 206.

*

Karrie Webb, trying to become the first player in 22 years to win four consecutive LPGA tournaments, shared the lead with the Sorenstam sisters, Annika and Charlotta, after the third round of the Standard Register Ping tournament at Phoenix.

All three leaders struggled in brisk desert winds and on greens that have grown increasingly firm to finish at eight-under-par 208 through 36 holes at the Legacy Golf Resort, a new course without many trees or other windbreaks.

Susie Redman, Carin Koch and Mi Hyun Kim were two shots back at six-under 210.

The Swedish sisters played together in the final group for the first time in an LPGA event, with Annika entering the third round with a one-shot lead over her sister and Webb.

Charlotta and Webb both shot even-par 72 on Saturday, while Annika had a 73.

Webb has won all four tournament she has played this year, including the Australian Women’s Open, which is not an LPGA event. If the Australian star can win today, then next week in The Nabisco Championship, she could tie the record for consecutive LPGA victories of five set by Nancy Lopez in 1978.

*

Andy North overcame nerves in the first round and wind in the second. He’ll probably have to combat both today to win in his debut on the Senior PGA Tour.

With gusts to 30 mph, North teamed with Jim Colbert to shoot a six-under-par 66 and maintain a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf at St. Augustine, Fla.

Heading into the final round of the two-man, best-ball tournament, North and Colbert are at 19-under-par 125. That’s three ahead of John Bland and Graham Marsh, who shot 65, John Mahaffey and Tom Wargo (64) and defending champions Hubert Green and Gil Morgan (66).