Odds, Andrade Finally Catch Up to Byrum

Tom Byrum couldn’t keep shooting 65s every day.

Byrum slipped with bogeys on the final two holes Saturday for a fourth-round 69 that dropped him into a tie for the lead with Billy Andrade in the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas.

On yet another perfect day for scoring in the desert, Byrum couldn’t match the 65s he shot each of the first three days. But he played well enough to keep sole possession of the lead until missing the green on the final two holes to drop to 24 under par.

Byrum finished with a three-under 69, but in a tournament where birdies rule, it was not enough to keep sole possession of the lead.

“I had a little struggling going on,” Byrum said. “But I’m still tied for the lead and have a chance to win the tournament. So I’m very happy about that.”

Andrade, meanwhile, shot a five-under 67 to move into a share of the lead. The two journeymen, both battling to win enough money to keep their PGA Tour cards for another year, led Scott McCarron (66) by a shot, with Shaun Micheel (63) one more shot back.

Phil Mickelson shot a 66 to get to 21 under, three shots off the lead. Casey Martin, also struggling to retain his card, shot a 71 and is eight shots back of the co-leaders.

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The sponsors called time on the Dunhill Cup, leaving defending champion Spain, two-time winner South Africa and longshots Argentina and Wales to chase the trophy for the final time.

The 16-year-old event is being replaced by a championship with a different format and name next year, so today at St. Andrews, Scotland, will be the final Dunhill Cup.

Spain, with Jose Maria Olazabal unbeaten in three matches, meets Argentina, and South Africa, with Ernie Els also 3-0, faces Wales for a place in the final later in the day.

The American team of Tom Lehman, John Daly and Larry Mize already was out of contention.

After the U.S. was beaten by Australia and Argentina, Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Japan, with Daly losing to Isao Aoki at the third extra hole, ensured the Americans wouldn’t finish last in the group for the second consecutive year.

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Juli Inkster, a self-described “boring mother” with two young daughters, was living dangerously at the Samsung World Championship at Vallejo, Calif.

Inkster’s adventurous third round included seven birdies, four bogeys, a wince-inducing double bogey and a spectacular eagle. It added up to a three-under 69 that put her four strokes ahead of Annika Sorenstam.

A less adventurous performance in today’s final round could give Inkster, at 11-under 205 after three rounds, her 25th career victory and her third World Championship in four years.

“I’m going to need to be a little more consistent,” she said with a grimace.

Today, Inkster will play with Sorenstam in a rematch of a singles match played on the final day of last week’s acrimonious Solheim Cup. Sorenstam recovered from a dismal second-round 74 with a tournament-low 66 that put her at 209 after three days.

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Jim Thorpe shot a tournament-record 10-under 62 to take a two-shot lead after two rounds at the Senior PGA Gold Rush Classic at Sacramento.

Thorpe, whose first Senior tour victory came last week at the Transamerica Championship, birdied seven consecutive holes at Serrano Country Club. Thorpe’s two-day total of 15-under 129 equaled the lowest two-round total this season.

Ed Dougherty, one of five first-round co-leaders, shot a 65 and trails Thorpe by two strokes. Mike McCullough shot a 66 and is three shots off the lead. Allen Doyle and Stewart Ginn are five shots back.