Stricker shoots way to the lead

A burst of birdies at the Barclays carried Steve Stricker to a six-under-par 65 and allowed him to zoom past K.J. Choi and into the lead Saturday at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y.

Finishing his first victory since 2001 won’t be easy.

Choi overcame some errant tee shots on the back nine with a birdie-birdie finish to salvage a 70, leaving him only one shot behind. Hunter Mahan shot a nine-under 62 to tie a tournament scoring record and move from the middle of the pack to only two shots behind.

Rich Beem overcame a rocky start with an eagle on the ninth hole and a 69.

Stricker was at 14-under 199, which tied the 54-hole record at Westchester.

Ray Stewart shot a four-under 68 and is the surprise leader at 10 under entering today’s final round of the Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic at Snoqualmie, Wash.

Denis Watson, Bruce Vaughn and Gil Morgan all joined Scott Hoch at six under.

Lorena Ochoa leads by a stroke entering the third and final round of the LPGA Tour’s Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., after two bogeys to complete her second round.

Ochoa, who has won two tournaments in a row, had eight birdies earlier in the round that helped her finish with a 66, giving her an 11-under 133.

Sophie Gustafson, who shared the lead with rookie Ji-Young Oh after the first round, had a 68 to go to 10-under 134.

Colt Knost beat Jhonattan Vegas, 4 and 3, and Michael Thompson beat Casey Clendenon, 3 and 2, in the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship at Daly City, Calif.

Knost is in position to become only the second player to follow a U.S. Public Links title with an Amateur championship in the same year. Ryan Moore, now a top-60 player on the PGA Tour, won the Amateur and the Publinx in 2004.