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Wongluekiet, 14, Still Shares Lead

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Dottie Pepper lost a three-stroke lead in the final three holes Saturday, dropping into a five-way tie for the lead heading into the final round of the Safeway LPGA Golf Championship at Portland.

Pepper ended her second round at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club course with a double bogey on No. 17 and a bogey on 18. That gave her a two-over 74 and a two-day total of 143. Also at 143 were 14-year-old amateur sensation Aree Wongluekiet, Donna Andrews, Annika Sorenstam and Mi Hyun Kim.

Pepper, 35, and Wongluekeit opened the day tied for the lead at three under.

After her slow start, Wongluekiet picked up her first birdie of the day at No. 13. She followed with another birdie at No. 16, a par-three, to cut Pepper’s advantage to two strokes.

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Pepper lost the rest of her lead when she three-putted No. 17.

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Justin Leonard shot a five-under-par 65 to take a two-stroke lead after three rounds in the Texas Open at San Antonio.

With a 13-under 197, the 1997 British Open champion led Mark Wiebe, who also shot a 65 and had a three-day total of 199. Blaine McCallister followed at 200.

Leonard made three birdies over the first 10 holes, then birdied the 15th and 16th before bogeying the 17th and recovering with a birdie on the 18th.

The former University of Texas star has not won a PGA tournament since the 1998 Players Championship.

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Bob Murphy, who hasn’t won in three years, made a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th green for his second consecutive six-under-par 66 to take a two-shot lead after 36 holes in the Bank One Senior Championship at Dallas.

Murphy’s 12-under-par 132 put him two shots ahead of Jim Thorpe, Gil Morgan and first-day leader Bill Brask. Thorpe and Morgan each shot second consecutive 67s, while former club pro Brask rallied after two early bogeys for a 70 after his opening round of 64.

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Murphy’s last victory was the 1997 Toshiba Classic where he beat Jay Sigel in a nine-hole playoff, holing an 80-foot putt to win.

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