Pak shares lead; Ochoa self-destructs

Se Ri Pak kept her mistakes to a minimum Saturday, finished witha 35- foot birdie putt and stands one round away from becoming theseventh woman to complete the career Grand Slam.

Lorena Ochoa made a whopper of a mistake that might cost her achance to win her first major and move to No. 1 in the world. Shewhiffed a flop shot on her way to a quadruple bogey on the par-317th hole, leaving Pak and Suzann Pettersen atop the leaderboard atthe Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Pak overcame some short-game gaffes on the closing holes with abirdie putt from the back of the green that dropped on its finalturn, giving her a 2-under- par 70 and a chance to capture the lastleg of the Grand Slam.

"You can't really think of that out there," said Pak, whocompleted 54 holes at 4-under 212. "There's just so much trouble outthere. Even par is a good score." Pettersen tapped in for birdie onthe 18th to finish a 1-under 71 that allowed her to tie Pak for thelead.

When a wild day finally ended, the tournament was up for grabs.Paula Creamer shot a 1-over 73 that put her one shot behind withMeaghan Francella, who shot a 3-under 69.

But the buzz came from Ochoa -- for all the wrong reasons. Shewas 3 under and one shot behind on the 17th when her 6-iron clippeda tree. Her pitch then landed in grass so deep she barely could seethe ball. Trying to hit a flop shot, the club slid under the ballwithout moving it. Her fourth shot ran down the ridge about 45 feetaway, and she needed three putts to get down. Ochoa wound up with a5-over 77 and was five shots behind.

"I was one behind, and suddenly I'm way back," Ochoa said inclipped answers. "I'm OK. ... I'm glad I'll be playing behind now. Ihave nothing to lose. Hopefully, I'll put pressure on the leaders."PGA: Bubba Watson was 9 under for the round and 15 under overallafter 15 holes when third-pound play was suspended by darkness inthe Houston Open in Humble, Texas.

Watson, who will finish his third round this morning, led JeffMaggert by three shots when play was suspended. Earlier,thunderstorms delayed play for almost six hours.

Champions: Keith Fergus shot a 5-under 67 to open a one-strokelead over Brad Bryant after the third round of the Ginn Championshipin Palm Coast, Fla. Fergus completed 54 holes at 10-under 134.