Corning, May 25: When the putts stopped falling, Catriona Matthew didn't panic. Matthew shot a 5-under 67 Saturday, rallying with a birdie at No. 17 after consecutive three-putt bogeys to take a two-stroke lead over Lorie Kane into the final round of the LPGA Corning Classic.
Matthew, who started the day tied with Kane at 12 under, was at 17-under 199 and easily within reach of the tournament record of 20-under 268 set in 1998 by Tammie Green.
Kane was alone in second after a 69. Meg Mallon and Hall of Famers Juli Inkster and Beth Daniel were another shot back at 202. Helen Alfredsson was alone at 203, Wendy Ward and Soo Yun Kang were tied at 204, and two-time Corning champ Rosie Jones was at 205.
A steady rain pelted the course most of the morning, and Daniel could only laugh as she stood in the rain and waited a little longer than usual to tee off as play slowed to a crawl.
But by the time the leaders were halfway through the front nine it was barely sprinkling. And with the players allowed to lift and place on the soft grass, the scores stayed low over the 6,082-yard Corning Country Club course.



Fifty-five of the 81 players who made the cut matched par or beat it, including Tracy Hanson, who shot an even-par 72 despite teeing off first in the pouring rain and having to play by herself.



Kane opened a two-shot lead over Matthew after hitting wedge to 10 feet at No. 6 and sinking a 10-foot birdie putt. But Matthew, a native of Scotland, rallied with birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 to forge a tie for the lead at 16 under.



Matthew followed with birdie at the par-5 12th hole and pitched to 4 feet at No. 14 and for another easy birdie to open a three-shot lead. Then she almost came undone, three-putting from 15 feet on each of the next two holes.



"Those three-putt bogeys coming down the last couple of holes certainly didn't help,'' said Matthew, who hit 13 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation. "It was just one of those things.''



A 15-foot birdie putt that barely crept into the hole at the par-4 17th hole restored some lost confidence. "It kind of got me back together,'' Matthew said.



Kane was wearing a big smile after the birdie at the sixth hole, tossing her ball to an ecstatic young fan as she walked toward the next tee. But a three-putt bogey from 15 feet at No. 10 changed the Canadian's mood a bit, and a poor drive at No. 13 kept her at 15 under despite a nice up-and-down birdie at the 12th hole.



"It was definitely scoreable out there, and I took advantage on the front side,'' Kane said. "But I didn't do so well on the back side. I missed a couple of drives and really didn't give myself too many chances until the finishing holes. I just left a few out there, and those types of things you have to clean up.''



Inkster shot a 68 and tied Kane with a birdie at No. 16. But both Inkster and Mallon drove into the trees on the final hole, each having to settle for bogey and falling behind Kane by a stroke.



"We had a little wait on 18, and I think we both lost our momentum,'' Inkster said. In all, there were 21 bogeys on the day at the 377-yard par-4 finishing hole, a mild dogleg left that was the third most difficult hole of the day.



There was only a 50 percent chance of showers on Sunday, and with so many veteran players within striking distance, everybody was expecting a riveting finish.



"There could be a lot of action tomorrow,'' Mallon said. "I think you have probably 10 to 12 people that have a chance to win.''


Bureau Report