Sorenstam ends suspense entering major's final day

The top-ranked player holds a five-shot lead.
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) -- Annika Sorenstam's game is nearing perfection. All she needs to practice now is her leap into the pond.
The most dominant player in women's golf all but wrapped up the first major of the year Saturday, shooting a flawless 6-under 66 in the third round to take a commanding five-shot lead over Rosie Jones in the Nabisco Championship.
In her relentless quest to both win her first major of the year and enter the LPGA Tour record books once again with her fifth straight tournament win, Sorenstam birdied four holes on the front nine and two on the back to shoot the lowest score of the week on the Mission Hills Country Club course.
There's 18 holes to play today, but that figures to be a mere formality. Sorenstam doesn't give up leads easily, and no one in the field has shown they have the game to challenge her.
"Obviously I'm in great shape for tomorrow," Sorenstam said.
Tough road ahead
Jones, in her final year on tour, birdied the final hole to shoot a 71 and inch a shot closer, but the only other players closer than 10 shots off the lead were Mi-Hyun Kim and Cristie Kerr, at seven shots back.
But Jones is all too aware of the challenge that faces her in the final round.
"She's the last person you want to have a five-shot lead," Jones said.
About the only excitement on the final day may be how artistically Sorenstam takes the traditional winner's jump into the pond surrounding the 18th green. She's likely to do well at that, too, because she's had practice by winning here twice in the last four years.
Sorenstam has gotten better every day, with an opening 70 followed by a second-round 69 before Saturday's 66. She's hitting the ball long, not making mistakes and might be playing the best golf of her career.
"This is probably as good golf as I've played on a consistent level for a long time," she said.
Assuming Sorenstam wins she will tie the record set by Nancy Lopez in 1978 of winning five consecutive events she played in. Lopez was dominant in her time, too, but Sorenstam is accomplishing things that Lopez never dreamed about.
Milestones
A win today would not only give Sorenstam a start toward doing something no other female golfer has ever done -- win all four majors in one year -- but would be the 59th of her LPGA Tour career.
"Tomorrow I want to have a day like I did today," she said. "It was just a great day for me out there."
Under ideal scoring conditions Saturday in the desert, Sorenstam didn't take long to separate herself from the pack. She started the day tied at 5-under with Jones, but promptly birdied the second and third holes and was on her way.
Playing in the final threesome with Jones and Mi-Hyun Kim, Sorenstam regularly drove the ball 60 yards past her competitors. While they were hitting fairway woods to the longer par-4s, she was hitting short irons.
The 387-yard 15th hole was a classic example. Jones had to hit a fairway wood as did Kim, and they both hit them about as well as they could, finishing 15 to 18 feet from the hole. Sorenstam, meanwhile, had a pitching wedge from the right side of the fairway and knocked it to 3 feet for her final birdie of the day.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.