Garcia Passes Woods for Lead

Sergio Garcia took the lead from Tiger Woods on Saturday at the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas, using exceptional control from tee to green for a five-under-par 65 and a two-shot edge over Jerry Kelly.

Garcia, winless on the PGA Tour in two years while retooling his swing, had a birdie putt on every hole on the TPC at Las Colinas and has hit the last 23 greens in regulation.

He was particularly strong on the par threes, making birdies on three of them to finish at 11-under 199.

Kelly had a bogey-free 67 and was at 201.

For the second week in a row, Woods let a 36-hole lead slip away quickly. He lost the lead with a three-putt bogey on the second hole and had to play hard -- usually from the rough -- to stay in range.

Woods went the final seven holes without a birdie and shot even-par 70, leaving him three shots behind.

Joining him at eight-under 202 was Deanne Pappas, who had a 66.

Vijay Singh, among eight players who had a share of the lead at one point, played the final 10 holes in two over and settled for a 68, leaving him in a large group at 203 that included Mark O’Meara (70) and Luke Donald. Donald was in the middle of the pack until an eagle-birdie-par finish gave him a 64, the low round of the day.

Garcia was never in trouble in ideal conditions for scoring, and those chasing him were lucky the deficit wasn’t greater.

“I gave myself a lot of birdie chances,” he said. “Unfortunately, the putter wasn’t quite as hot as I’d like it to be. But the game is there.”

Woods had a 75 last week at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C., to go from a two-shot lead to five shots behind. This time, he managed to limit the damage with incredible shots from the rough, although he also missed several good birdie chances.

“Down the fairway, middle of the green,” Woods said after his round. “The whole thing is getting it going tomorrow. I need to be in the fairway more and give myself some better looks at putts. Today, I made nothing.”

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Lorena Ochoa shot a five-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead through three rounds of the inaugural Franklin American Mortgage Championship in Franklin, Tenn.

Ochoa shared a one-stroke lead with Pat Hurst after two rounds, and took a big step toward her first victory with a seven-birdie, two-bogey round.

The 2003 rookie of the year, who has 13 top-10 finishes in her short career, is at 12-under 204.

One week after sharing the third-round lead and finishing second, Ochoa started slowly with bogeys at Nos. 3 and 6. She rebounded with birdies on six of the next nine holes to move into the lead.

Mi Hyun Kim tied the course record with an eight-under 64, and moved into second place at 11-under 205.