GOLF Lietzke fires 64 to lead by four

He leads Vicente Fernandez and Tom Watson in the U.S. Senior Open.
TOLEDO (AP) -- Bruce Lietzke has gone lower than 64, but never with so much riding on it.
One of the best rounds of Lietzke's 29-year pro career powered him to a four-stroke lead through Saturday's third round of the U.S. Senior Open.
Lietzke's 7-under 64 -- which included five birdies on the home nine -- left him at 9-under 204 heading into the final round. He has never before won a major championship, although he's had close calls over a long and productive career.
Vicente Fernandez, who started the day with a one-stroke lead over Tom Watson, shot a 71 and was deadlocked with Watson for second place at 5-under 208. Watson had a 70 that included pars on his final 10 holes.
Lietzke opened and closed his round with birdies. In between, he never seemed to be out of position and seldom hit a bad shot -- or at least one from which he couldn't recover.
Way ahead of next best
His 64 was five strokes better than the next best score in the third round -- just as Fernandez's 64 was the day before.
Lietzke played the final 10 holes in 6 under, again and again pulling off stunning shots as he skirted trouble with sometimes errant drives.
After letting a share of the lead slip away with two bogeys on the front side, Lietzke hit a 7 iron to 16 feet at the bunker-surrounded ninth hole to pull within a shot of Watson's lead.
He pulled even at No. 11, coming out of the heavy rough with a 9 iron approach that ended up 6 inches from the pin.
The Texan then strung together three birdies in a row to take command.
At the par-5 13th, he reached the green in two and almost made his 30-foot eagle putt -- settling for a tap-in birdie.
At the next hole, he found the deep rough off the tee and didn't want to take the risk of hitting over the green. So he purposely hit short, leaving himself with a 71-foot chip shot that he dropped softly on the front of the green. It rolled right up to the cup and dove in.
At the 15th hole, he hit a 7 iron to 8 feet to get to 8 under and a three-shot lead, then closed it out by rolling in a 16-footer for birdie on the 18th green before a huge gallery.
Contradicts opinion
All week long, the world's greatest seniors had said no one could win the Open without keeping the ball in the fairway at old-school Inverness Club. Yet Lietzke hit just seven of a possible 15 fairways in his 64.
One of the longest hitters on the Champions Tour, Lietzke lamented the fact before the tournament that he couldn't hit his driver very often. So far, he hasn't needed it.
Fernandez had trouble off the tee all day as well, but he was unable to scramble for pars -- or even better -- as Lietzke did. He had four birdies but offset them with four bogeys.
Watson failed to make the long putts that had marked his opening-round 66. He had numerous birdie opportunities down the stretch but didn't make any.
Only one other player was in red numbers through 54 holes. Allen Doyle shot a 71 and was alone in fourth at 212, a distant eight shots behind the leader.
Lietzke won 13 times on the PGA Tour and has won six more tournaments since joining the senior circuit in 2001. He tied for third behind John Jacobs earlier this year at the Senior PGA Championship, the first major of the year.