Allenby Still Shares Lead, but Woods in the Hunt

Robert Allenby ticked off the names of players he let back into the hunt Saturday in the NEC Invitational at Sammamish, Wash.

One stood out in particular.

“You’ve got a guy like Tiger Woods sitting right up behind you,” Allenby said after an even-par 71 that left him with a share of the lead, which for him was about the best thing that came out of the third round at Sahalee Country Club.

“You’ve got the top three or four players in the world right on your heels. You know one of them is going to have a good day. And I can put a pretty good bet on one of them.”

Woods had a four-under 67 and is two strokes back as he tries to become the first player in 75 years to win the same tournament four consecutive years.

Allenby needed a birdie on the last hole to share the lead with fellow Australian Craig Parry, who had a bogey-free 66 to tie Allenby at 10-under 203.

Woods, who finished second in last week’s PGA Championship, will play today with Ernie Els, who is also at eight-under 205.

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Former Masters champion Craig Stadler, 49, shot a 65 to pull within one stroke of leaders Chris Riley, Steve Flesch and Jonathan Kaye in the third round of the $3-million Reno-Tahoe Open.

Riley shot a 67 for a share of the lead at 12-under 204.

Kaye shot a 69 and Flesch shot a 70.

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Michelle Ellis shot a seven-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Betsy King Classic at Kutztown, Pa.

Ellis, who is seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, birdied eight of the final 11 holes to finish at 15-under 201, breaking the tournament record for 54 holes set last year by Heather Daly-Donofrio.

Australian Karrie Webb was two strokes back after a 67, and South Korea’s Se Ri Pak (66), Kelly Robbins (65) and Angela Stanford (66) followed at 12 under.

Danielle Ammaccapane, who began the round tied for the lead with Australia’s Wendy Doolan at nine under, shot a 71 to fall five strokes back. Doolan was another shot behind after a 72.

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Ricky Barnes, a senior at Arizona, defeated Wake Forest junior Bill Haas, 1-up, and Hunter Mahan, a junior at Oklahoma State, defeated North Carolina junior Dustin Bray, 1-up, in the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur at Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

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John Jacobs scored 24 points with two eagles and seven birdies for a share of the second-round lead with Morris Hatalsky in the Senior PGA Tour’s Uniting Fore Care Classic at Park City, Utah.

Jacobs and Hatalsky, who birdied four of the last six holes, each had 30 points under the scoring format.