Aussies share lead in NEC Invitational

SAMMAMISH, Wash. -- Robert Allenby ticked off the names of players that he let back into the hunt Saturday in the NEC Invitational.

One of them stood out in particular.

"You've got a guy like Tiger Woods sitting right up behind you," Allenby said after an even-par 71 that left him in a share of the lead, which was about the best thing that came out of the third round at Sahalee Country Club.

"You've got the top three or four players in the world right on your heels. You know one of them is going to have a good day. And I can put a pretty good bet on one of them."

The NEC Invitational moved across the country this year, from Firestone Country Club in Ohio to tree-lined Sahalee west of Seattle.

No matter.

Woods is where he usually is at this tournament, right in the thick of it going into the final round of the $5 million World Golf Championship event.

"I got myself back in the tournament with a chance to win tomorrow," said Woods, who had a 4-under 67 despite bogeys on the last two holes that dropped him out of the lead.

He is in good position to become the first player in 75 years to win the same tournament four straight years, and he owes a small debt of gratitude to Allenby.

Allenby looked as though he might run away from the field after making birdies on the first two holes. Instead, he caught a bad break that led to double bogey and needed a birdie on the last hole to share the lead with fellow Aussie Craig Parry.

Allenby's round was not all that bad considering no one in the final two groups broke par on a course with increasingly firm fairways and bumpy greens.

Parry had a bogey-free 66 and joined him at 10-under 203.

Woods will play with Ernie Els, also at 8-under 205, with Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh among those who were another stroke behind.

In all, a dozen players were separated by four strokes.

PGA: Craig Stadler shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to pull within a stroke of leaders Chris Riley, Steve Flesch and Jonathan Kaye after the third round of the Reno-Tahoe Open.

Riley opened with five straight birdies, but mixed three birdies with three bogeys the rest the way for a 67 and a share of the lead at 12-under 204 on the Montreux Golf & Country Club course. Kaye shot a 69, and Flesch followed his second-round 64 with a 70 in sometimes windy conditions on the mountain layout.

The 49-year-old Stadler, the 1982 Master champion who formerly lived at nearby Lake Tahoe, was threatening the course record of 63 before he hit into the water on the par-3 16th and was forced to make a 10-footer to save double bogey.

LPGA: Australia's Michelle Ellis, coming off consecutive runner-up finishes as she seeks her first LPGA Tour victory, shot a 7-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Betsy King Classic.

Ellis birdied eight of the final 11 holes to finish at 15-under 201, breaking the tournament record for 54 holes set last year by Heather Daly-Donofrio en route to her victory.

Australian star Karrie Webb was two strokes back after a 67, and South Korea's Se Ri Pak (66), Kelly Robbins (65) and Angela Stanford (66) followed at 12 under.

Danielle Ammaccapane, who began the round tied for the lead with Australia's Wendy Doolan at 9 under, shot a 71 to fall five strokes back at 10 under. Doolan was another shot behind after a 72.

U.S. AMATEUR: Ricky Barnes and Hunter Mahan advanced to the championship of the U.S. Amateur with semifinal victories, keeping alive their hopes for a berth in next year's U.S. Open and a probable invitation to the Masters.

Barnes, a senior at Arizona, used a spectacular short game to beat Wake Forest junior Bill Haas, the son of PGA Tour pro Jay Haas, 1-up. Mahan, a junior at Oklahoma State, earned his way into today's 36-hole final at Oakland Hills with a 1-up victory over North Carolina junior Dustin Bray.

SENIORS: John Jacobs scored 24 points with two eagles and seven birdies for a share of the second-round lead with Morris Hatalsky in the Senior PGA Tour's Uniting Fore Care Classic.

Jacobs and Hatalsky, who birdied four of the last six holes, each had 30 points under the modified Stableford scoring format.

Tom Watson had 26 points for third place after an eagle and two birdies over the final four holes. Don Pooley was fourth at 21.

Hatalsky, the first-round leader, scored 11 points Saturday. He had six birdies and one bogey in the second round.

Jacobs made a 35-foot eagle putt on No. 8, and added a 10-footer on No. 17. Converted to stroke play, he was 11 under for a course-record 61.

SCOTTISH PGA: Australia's Adam Scott finished eagle-birdie-birdie for a 5-under 67 and a five-stroke lead after three rounds of the Scottish PGA Championship.

The 22-year-old Scott had an eagle, six birdies and three bogeys en route to a 17-under 199 total. Australia's Scott Gardiner (65) and Scotland's Raymond Russell (66) were tied for second.

-- From wire reports