DUBLIN, Ohio - Steve Stricker holed out from the fairway for one of his two eagles Saturday, wound up with a 3-under 69 on a steamy afternoon at Muirfield Village and finished with a three-shot lead in the Memorial. He still had to convince himself it was a good day.
Stricker holed out for eagle from 113 yards on the second hole, made another eagle with a 3-iron into 6 feet on the par-5 fifth and looked as though he might run away from the field when he rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth.
Right when it looked as though Stricker might leave everyone in his wake, he missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole that threw his round into reverse. He made bogey on the par-5 15th. He missed a 4-foot par putt on the 16th, and had a 7-foot birdie on the next hole catch the lip. And when he arrived to his ball in the middle of the 18th fairway, it was right in the middle of a sand-filled divot.
Stricker managed to save par on the last hole.
The score that matters is 12-under 204, which was three shots clear of Jonathan Byrd.
"All of a sudden, things seemed pretty hard, when at the start of the day, things were really going my way," he said. "But I understand that, and I understand that's the nature of this game. So you add them up at the end, and it was a 69. And it was a good score."
Byrd, who won the season-opener at Kapalua after playing in the final group with Stricker, hit his approach into 2 feet on the final hole for a birdie at a 69. Perhaps most significant to Byrd was that he didn't drop a lot of shots down the stretch as so many others did. Byrd's only blunder came on the par-5 11th, where he made his only bogey in his last 43 holes.
Matt Kuchar was the only player who seemed capable of keeping up with Stricker in the early going, but he dropped two shots in his last four holes and had to settle for a 68. That put him in a tie for third with Brandt Jobe (69), four shots behind.
ShopRite LPGA Classic
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Cristie Kerr birdied the final hole for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot lead over Catriona Matthew after the second round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
The 33-year-old Kerr rolled in three of her eight birdies after making a double bogey on the 12th hole on the Bay Course at Seaview. Kerr capped the round with an 8-footer at the par-5 18th to put herself in position to win for the first time this year and for the 15th time in her LPGA career.
Kerr, who won this event in 2004, had an 8-under 134 total after a round that was played in a slight breeze in stark contrast to the 20 mph wind that blew Friday.
Matthew is looking to become the first player in her 40s to win on the LPGA Tour since Helen Alfredsson won in China in 2008 at 43. The 41-year-old mother of two who has won only three times in 17 years on tour, had a 67. Her last win was the 2009 British Women's Open, 11 weeks after she gave birth to her second child.
Brittany Lincicome, looking for her first win since 2009, was alone at 6 under after shooting a tournament-best 64 that featured seven birdies and no bogeys.
Principal Charity Classic
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa - Mark Brooks survived a shaky finish that left him with a 4-under 67 and a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Principal Charity Classic.
Brooks, a Champions Tour rookie who began the day two strokes in front, salvaged a bogey on 18 after twice hitting into bunkers and finished 36 holes at 10-under 132. Mark Calcavecchia, playing in the same group as Brooks, closed with three straight pars after an eagle on 15 to wind up with a 66, putting him 9 under.
Peter Senior (67) and 2002 winner Bob Gilder (66) were 8 under.
Wales Open
NEWPORT, Wales - Sweden's Alexander Noren shot an even-par 71 to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Wales Open, while defending champion Graeme McDowell fell 11 strokes off the pace after a stunning collapse at Celtic Manor.
Noren had an 8-under 205 total. Fellow Swede Peter Hanson (69) and Denmark's Anders Hansen (66) were tied for second. McDowell shot an 81 after beginning the round a shot behind Noren. The U.S. Open champion had a quadruple-bogey at No. 12, three double bogeys and three bogeys.
