Kerr Shoots a 61 to Pass Sorenstam

Cristie Kerr shot a career-best 10-under-par 61 Saturday, giving her the lead after the second round of the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic at Broken Arrow, Okla.

Kerr’s course-record 61 at Cedar Ridge Country Club in suburban Tulsa, the best round on the LPGA Tour this year, helped her take a one-shot lead over Annika Sorenstam, who is the only LPGA player to break 60.

Kerr, who shot a six-under 30 on the front side, said she thought about her chance to post a 59 but reminded herself not to play overly aggressive on the final holes of the 6,602-yard course. After hitting her tee shot into the rough on No. 17 she had to lay up. She got up and down to save par, then missed a 15-footer for birdie on No. 18 and is at 11-under 131 overall.

“It’s preparation meets opportunity,” Kerr said. “When those things meet, you get to the kind of place where anything you want to do, you can do. That’s what we aspire to be able to reproduce.”

Kerr and Sorenstam, who shot a three-under 68, are well clear of the field. Allison Hanna, in third place, is at five under.

“It’s a little bit head-to-head,” Sorenstam said of her pairing today with Kerr. “You can play aggressive, but then you also have to deal with it. I’m going to go out and enjoy it tomorrow and hopefully make some birdies.”

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Justin Rose topped the crowded third-round leaderboard in the Canadian Open, shooting a five-under 65 in ideal scoring conditions on the rain-softened Hamilton Golf and Country Club course.

Rose finished at 11-under 199, a stroke ahead of Bart Bryant (64), Trevor Immelman (66), Sean O’Hair (66) and Jonathan Byrd (67). Steve Lowery (65), U.S. Ryder Cup player Jim Furyk (67) and Brett Quigley (67) followed at nine under.

Rose, winless on the PGA Tour but best known for his fourth-place finish at the 1998 British Open as a 17-year-old amateur, birdied the first three holes to take a two-stroke lead, making putts of 10, 2 and 17 feet.

“It was a good confidence-building start, for sure,” Rose said.

Immelman had an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys. The 26-year-old South African is the last player to beat Tiger Woods, edging him by two strokes in the Western Open in early July for his first PGA Tour title.

On the par-five 17th, Immelman cut a 230-yard, five-wood shot into five feet to set up the eagle that moved him to 10 under.

“That eagle on 17 really helped my cause,” Immelman said. “I was really struggling on the back nine, especially with my putter.”

The 43-year-old Bryant had seven birdies and a bogey to also finish at 10 under. He won the Memorial and Tour Championship last year after taking the 2004 Texas Open for his first victory in his 187th career start.

Lowery, another older player at 45, got to nine under with a 25-foot eagle putt on 17.

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Bradley Dredge shot a six-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead after three rounds at the European Masters at Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

The 33-year-old Welshman, who was at 13-under 200, got a birdie and an eagle on the two par-fives on the back nine. He leads Marcel Siem (67) by two shots and Oliver Wilson (67) by four. Sergio Garcia (68) is fourth, a stroke behind Wilson.