Originally published Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Golf | Annika Sorenstam puts pressure on Stanford

Annika Sorenstam made up five strokes on leader Angela Stanford on Saturday in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, shooting a 5-under-par 67...

By The Associated Press

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Angela Stanford has the lead in Mexico.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Annika Sorenstam made up five strokes on leader Angela Stanford on Saturday in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, shooting a 5-under-par 67 to cut her deficit to a stroke with one round left.

Making her second-to-last start before leaving the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam eagled the par-5 10th hole and added six birdies. The Swedish superstar has 72 victories on Tour.

Sorenstam said, "I would say the biggest difference today is, I made some putts, especially early on, and I hit a few shots a little closer today."

Stanford, who has four consecutive top-five finishes, had a third-round 72 after starting with rounds of 68 and 66.

"It was definitely a grind out there," said Stanford, who was at 10-under 206 after two birdies and two bogeys in the third round. "My swing felt all over the map, and fortunately I was able to save some pars."

As for the expected final-round challenge from Sorenstam, Stanford said, "There's going to be some pressure. She's one of the legends of our game, and she is probably the best of all time. She's going to play really well."

Australia's Katherine Hull (66) was two strokes behind Stanford.

Ochoa (70) was tied for 13th place at 2 under.

Other tournaments

• Chapchai Nirat of Thailand shot a 6-under 65 and took a three-stroke lead after three rounds of the Singapore Open. Chapchai had a 10-under 203 total.

Lam Chih Bing (68) of Singapore was second. American Phil Mickelson (66) was at 6 under.

• Erik Compton, playing six months after a second heart transplant, failed to advance by one shot in the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying after he shot a 1-over 73 in Brooksville, Fla. Compton finished at 6-under 282 to tie for 22nd. The top 20 and ties advance to the final stage of Q-school next month in La Quinta, Calif.

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