Anna Nordqvist weathered a lengthy rain delay and fading daylight to take a one-shot lead over Lindsey Wright in the LPGA Championship when play was halted in the third round yesterday. Nordqvist made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole after the horn stopped play because of darkness. The players were allowed to finish the hole, and the rookie from Sweden took advantage by moving to 10-under par.

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md.—Anna Nordqvist made a 36-foot birdie putt on the final hole yesterday to break a tie with Nicole Castrale and take the lead after two rounds in the LPGA Championship. Nordqvist shot a 70 for an 8-under 136. Castrale stumbled at the outset and charged to the finish while shooting a par 72. Katherine Hull (69) and Lindsey Wright (68) were 6 under.

Rookie Matt Bettencourt used eight birdies to build a 9-under 207 and take a share of the lead. DUBLIN, Ohio—Matt Bettencourt, a 34-year-old rookie who had never played a PGA Tour event until this year, steadied himself during some nervous moments on the super slick greens of Muirfield Village for a 4-under 68 to share the 54-hole lead with two-time tour winner Mark Wilson (69).

BEACHWOOD, Ohio—Michael Allen, winless in 271 PGA Tour events, shot a 3-under 67 yesterday for a one-shot lead over Jeff Sluman and Tom Kite through three rounds of the Senior PGA Championship. Allen, who turned 50 in January, is making his senior debut and finds himself atop the leaderboard in the tour’s first major championship of the year. He stands at 3-under 207 through 54 holes.

IRVING, Texas - Fun-loving PGA Tour rookie James Nitties finished with four consecutive birdies for a 5-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead with Ken Duke yesterday in the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Nitties, who on his tour bio lists clubbing, girls and movies as his special interests, was 1 under through 14 holes and hopeful of getting one more birdie in his round. He then hit his approach at the 504-yard 15th to 5 feet, and his longest putt in the closing stretch was 12 feet.

Cristie Kerr shoots 1-under-par 71 en route to winning the tournament in what could be the LPGA’s final visit to Kingsmill.

WILLIAMSBURG IIf 90 percent of success is showing up, and if success really is a matter of hanging on after everyone else has let go, Cristie Kerr is on her way to the top. Kerr showed up for all 18 holes yesterday in the final round of the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Her closest competitors did not. Kerr seized an opportunity to win when it pre sented itself.

A tournament that was Lorena Ochoa’s to lose is suddenly anyone’s to win. Lindsey Wright and Cristie Kerr played splendidly and well, respectively, on a breezy day on the lower James River to vault into a tie for first place heading into today’s final round of the $2.2 million Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Wright shot 64 and Kerr 66 yesterday. Kerr, striving to become the first two-time champion in the event’s seven-year history, pulled alongside Wright at 15 under by finishing with back-to-back birdies.

An uncharacteristic stumble at the finish line didn’t prevent Lorena Ochoa from pulling away from her pursuers at the Michelob Ultra Open. Ochoa, the world’s No.1-ranked female golfer, delivered a 6-under-par 65 yesterday and will carry a three-shot cushion into today’s third round on the Kingsmill Resort’s 6,315-yard River Course. Ochoa reached 14 under with a birdie on her 17th hole but returned that stroke by bogeying 18 (the par-4 ninth) from the bunker that guards the right side of the green.

Every time Beth Bader plays a hole, money is at stake. It has nothing to do with winning the tournament or where Bader finishes in the standings. Every birdie or eagle by Bader means she contributes $5 to research to find a cure for pancreatic cancer. Bader’s mother, Susan, was a victim of pancreatic cancer. “Birdies for a Breakthrough,“ Bader said.

Last year, Reilley Rankin forgot. This year, her memory is clear, and it has made a great deal of difference in her game. As she was practicing in preparation for the 2009 season, hitting every conceivable shot from every conceivable angle—uphill lies, downhill lies, sidehill lies—a thought came to Rankin. It’s a thought worth remembering no matter what your job.

WILLIAMSBURG—Lorena Ochoa sank her third consecutive birdie putt, a five-footer at No. 11, to open a three-shot lead this afternoon at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill.

WILLIAMSBURG—Lorena Ochoa, the world’s No. 1-ranked female golfer, says she detests cold weather. Given the heat Ochoa brought to the Kingsmill Resort yesterday, cold didn’t stand a chance.

The first round of the Michelob Ultra Open was accompanied by weather that changed from dark, gloomy and rainy to windy with scattered clouds to bright and humid. Players were required to adjust tactics - and clothing - accordingly. “I had my rain gear on and off about three times today,“ said Lindsey Wright, who shot a 6-under-par 65 for sole possession of second place.

WILLIAMSBURG—Lorena Ochoa finished a sizzling round of 7-under 64 today to maintain her first-round lead at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Ochoa, the world’s top-ranked female golfer, leads Lindsey Wright by one stroke and Hee-Won Han by two.