Sorenstam Pulls Even With Kerr

Annika Sorenstam is in her comfort zone: entering the final round of a tournament with a piece of the lead.

Sorenstam birdied the final hole while Cristie Kerr made a bogey as each finished the third round of the Samsung World Championship on Saturday at Vallejo, Calif., at 15 under par.

Sorenstam shot a four-under 68 and Kerr shot a 69.

“I’m just going to continue what I have done in the past,” said Sorenstam, who has won 25 of the 42 tournaments she led going into the final day. “Hopefully things will come up the way it has for me most of the times.”

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Brandt Jobe shot a six-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead at 13-under 200 after three rounds of the Michelob Championship at Williamsburg, Va. Billy Mayfair was one shot back after a 68.

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Two-time defending champion Hale Irwin shot his second consecutive three-under 69 for a share of the lead in the Turtle Bay Championship at Kahuku, Hawaii. Irwin matched Dick Mast (67), Mike Smith (69) and Morris Hatalsky (69) at six-under 138.

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Citigroup Chairman Sanford I. Weill offered his guarded support in a statement he sent Friday to the National Council of Women’s Organizations, the group pushing Augusta National to admit female members.

Citigroup said Weill intends to keep the dialogue private. Martha Burk, chairwoman of the NWCO, told Associated Press she respected that notion.

Citigroup was a sponsor of the Masters but was dropped with IBM and Coca-Cola in August as the club tried to shield the companies from the controversy.

Tennis

Lindsay Davenport defeated Amanda Coetzer, 6-3, 6-4, and Magdalena Maleeva beat Amelie Mauresmo, 7-5, 6-4, in the women’s semifinals of the Kremlin Cup at Moscow.

Top-seeded Marat Safin lost to Paul-Henri Mathieu, 7-6 (3), 6-4, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov was upset by Sjeng Schalken, 6-2, 6-4, in the men’s semifinals.

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Eighth-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan lost to Kenneth Carlsen, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), and Magnus Norman defeated Vince Spadea, 6-4, 7-6 (4), in the men’s semifinals of the Japan Open at Tokyo.

In the women’s semifinals, Jill Craybas beat Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, and Silvia Talaja beat Sarah Taylor, 6-3, 6-4.

Hockey

The Montreal Canadiens said that forward Gino Odjick is on an indefinite leave of absence but would not explain the reason beyond Coach Michel Therrien’s comments Friday that Odjick was having personal problems.

Odjick, sidelined because of a concussion, denied in an interview with Le Journal de Montreal on Saturday that he had personal problems.

Motor Racing

Mission Hills’ Rip Michels completed the sweep of the top titles at Irwindale Speedway by winning the 2002 Miller Lite Big Ten Challenge Series.

Michels, who finished fifth in the 75-lap Super Late Model race won by Kevin Vernon, won the title when his closest competitor, Brandon Loverock, pulled into the infield after 17 laps.

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Josh Larsen of Monrovia won the four-lap scratch main speedway event at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Larsen led from the start.

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Mike Kirby caught Bobby Graham in traffic, then used the lap traffic to put distance between himself and the field to win the SCRA Sprints at Perris Auto Speedway.