Scott has three-shot lead over Durant and Singh

The best shot Adam Scott hit all day wound up in the face of a bunker. His worst shot stopped two feet away for an eagle.

Even more surprising was where it led him Saturday in the Tour Championship at Atlanta.

A thinly struck three-iron rolled all the way up the slope on the par-five 15th, climbed onto the green and stopped within tap-in range for an eagle that carried him to a three-under 67 at East Lake. And when Joe Durant bogeyed two of the last three holes, Scott walked off the final green with a three-shot lead over Durant and Vijay Singh.

“Those last five holes were really a big swing in the tournament for me,” said Scott, who was at seven-under 203.

But even with a comfortable margin, one look at the leaderboard reminded him that his work is far from finished.

He will play in the final group with Singh, who shot 30 on the back nine on his way to a 65 and was at 206. Singh won at East Lake in 2002, which triggered his rise to No. 1 in the world.

Former U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk, the No. 2 player in the world and top-ranked player at East Lake, birdied three consecutive holes down the stretch for a 67 and was at three-under 207. Also four shots behind was two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen, who made clutch par saves on the back nine for a 68.

And don’t count out Ernie Els (66) or Luke Donald (69) at 209.

For all the talk about Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson sitting this one out, there was plenty of star power at East Lake. Five of the top 10 players in the world ranking are among the top eight on the leaderboard.

“Who’s not here?” Singh said with a laugh. “I’m here, right? Ernie is here. Furyk is here. The golf tournament is still here.”

And there’s a $1.17-million payoff to the winner and a crystal trophy that Scott is desperate to get. He has played some of his most consistent golf this year, and this is his last chance to win on the PGA Tour.

The turnaround started on the 14th hole, when Scott hit wedge to six feet for birdie. The surprise came on the next hole.

He was tied for the lead with Durant, his ball in the first cut of rough on the left side of the fairway when he caught his three-iron thin and slumped his shoulders as it ran up the steep slope. But it kept rolling, and rolling, until it climbed onto the green.

Suddenly, Scott was all smiles as he walked up the fairway, twirling his three-iron like a drum major.

“I thought it would be short,” Scott said. “But it was going where I was aiming. I hit a lot of other great shots that didn’t turn out as well.”

The eagle gave the Australian star the lead, and it got even bigger when Durant bogeyed the next two holes.

*

Annika Sorenstam moved into contention for an LPGA Tour-record sixth consecutive Mizuno Classic title at Mie, Japan, shooting a six-under 66 to finish the second round two strokes behind leader Momoko Ueda.

Sorenstam had six birdies in her bogey-free round to finish at seven-under 137 on the Kashikojima Country Club course.

“Six under. I’ll take that any day,” Sorenstam said. “I’m ready to win. I would love to win tomorrow. I’ve had some great success here. I feel fortunate about that, and I don’t want to take anything for granted.”

The 20-year-old Ueda, one of 35 Japan LPGA players in the 76-player field, was nine under after a 64 -- the course record and the best round of her career by a stroke.

Australian star Karrie Webb, a four-time winner this year on the LPGA Tour, was a stroke back after a 67, and first-round leader Rachel Hetherington (72) was seven under along with Sorenstam, Japanese star Ai Miyazato (68), Brittany Lang (69), Aree Song (68), Yun Hee Ku (65) and Jeong Eun Lee (65).