Ochoa recovers to keep hope alive

The LPGA ace is trying to capture her third straight major championship.

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. (AP) — Lorena Ochoa chopped into the mangled grass and was stunned to see her ball hop only a few inches, sending her to a double bogey as her hopes for a third straight major championship slipped away from her.

By the time she recovered, she found some perspective in the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, along with a familiar name.

Ochoa was only two shots off the lead, trailing two players who have never seriously contended in a major.

And she was tied with Annika Sorenstam, out to make history of her own in her final season on the LPGA Tour.

“I’m just glad I have a chance tomorrow,” Ochoa said.

Stifling heat that turned Bulle Rock into an oven cooked up quite a treat Saturday.

Jee Young Lee played her final four holes in 4-under par and surged into the lead with a 7-under 65, putting her one shot ahead of Maria Hjorth, who also had a 65. They are among the longest hitters in women’s golf.

Joining them in the final group will be Sorenstam, trying to join Mickey Wright as a four-time winner of this major. Sorenstam has gone 30 holes without a bogey, and she rarely found trouble on her way to a 68 that put her two shots behind.

“The key in majors is not how it’s done; you’ve got to get it done,” Sorenstam said. “That’s what I’ve got to do tomorrow.”

The only disappointment was that Ochoa and Sorenstam, Nos. 1 and 2 in the world, won’t get a chance to play together. LPGA officials, fearful of more fog that delayed the start of the third round, opted for threesomes today.

Sorenstam will play with Lee, whose 25-foot birdie on the last hole gave her the lead at 12-under 204, and Hjorth.

Ochoa birdied two of her last three holes to salvage an even-par 72, tied for third with Sorenstam.

“I would have probably liked to have played with Annika,” Ochoa said. “I think it would have been fun for us and for all of you. But it’s OK. It’s better when they know what I have done. That will be important, to get a good start and to put my name up there. And they can stay with the pressure in the last group.”

Ten players were within five shots of Lee, who won an LPGA Tour event in her native South Korea three years ago when she was 19.