Birdies propel Pettersson

He's tied for the lead of the Chrysler Championship with Steve Lowery.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- Carl Pettersson hit five straight iron shots inside 12 feet and made three of them for birdie, enough to carry him to a 4-under 67 on Saturday for a share of the lead with Steve Lowery in the Chrysler Championship.
Pettersson finished with eight straight pars at Innisbrook, a tough course that was even more demanding in swirling wind and a warm sun that made it play firm and fast.
He was happy with pars, putting him at 9-under 204 and giving him his second chance in two months to earn his first PGA Tour victory. Pettersson was in a five-way tie for the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but closed with a 72.
Lowery was the only player to reach 10 under par until missing the par-3 17th to the right, chipping no closer than 30 feet and two-putting for bogey. Still, he was solid from the start and will go after his first tour victory since the 2000 Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
They had a three-shot lead over Davis Love III, Tom Pernice Jr. (70) and Daniel Chopra (68).
Love, trying to avoid another winless season, rebounded from a double bogey in the water on No. 3 to shoot 70, although he lost a chance to get into the final group by missing a 6-foot birdie on the last hole.
Charles Schwab Cup Championship
SONOMA, Calif. -- Jay Haas shot a 9-under 63 to take a six-shot lead after the third round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
Haas, starting the day just one stroke back at 5 under, sprinted to 9 under after six holes and never looked back. He birdied Nos. 2-5 during one stretch, and finished at 14-under 202.
Haas will be going for his third win in four weeks in the Champions Tour's season-ending event.
Tom Kite, who was tied for 10th at 4 under after the second round, started with three straight birdies and finished tied for second with tour leading money-winner Dana Quigley (68), Tom Watson (69), Loren Roberts and Nielsen.
Nielsen and Roberts, tied for the second-round lead with Gil Morgan, were 2-under for day. Morgan dropped to seventh after a 71.
The 51-year-old Haas, who has won nine PGA Tour events, is coming off a victory at the SBC Championship, his second Champions Tour victory in three weeks. He has earned $744,653 on the 50-and-over tour this year, nearly $600,000 of that amount coming in his last four outings.
CJ Nine Bridges Classic
JEJU, South Korea-- South Korea's Jee Young Lee overcame a pair of double bogeys in a round of 1-over 73 to take a three-stroke lead after the second round of the LPGA Tour's CJ Nine Bridges Classic.
Lee, who was 11 under before taking a 6 on the par-4 14th and a 7 on the par-5 18th, finished at 6-under 138. Mi Hyun Kim (71) and British Open champion Jeong Jang (74) were at 3 under. Annika Sorenstam had a second straight 75 and was 6 over.
Volvo Masters
SOTOGRANDE, Spain -- Sergio Garcia shot a 68 and moved into a tie for the lead with Colin Montgomerie at 10 under after three rounds of the Volvo Masters.
Paul McGinley had six birdies en route to a 65 and joined Lee Westwood (67) , Paul Broadhurst (67) and defending champion Ian Poulter (72) in third place, four strokes back.
U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell, the only player who can deny Montgomerie the Order of Merit title, had a 68 and trails by six shots.
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