Rosales shoots 67, trails leader by five

Filipina Jennifer Rosales shot a bogeyless round of four under-par 67 and remained within sight of the title in the third round which saw Chile’s Nicole Perrot occupy the lead in the Longs Drugs Challenge Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in Auburn, California.

Jennifer, 27, sank birdies in the fourth and sixth holes, then in the 15th and final holes for a 34-33 in the par-71 The Ridge Golf Course. That gave her a three-round score of 204, five shots behind Perrot, whose three-stroke lead after a seven-under-par 64 moved her into position for her first LPGA Tour victory.

The 21-year-old Perrot, the 2001 US Girls champion, had a 14-under 199 total on The Ridge Golf Course. She had eight birdies — four in a row on Nos. 3-6 — and a bogey in the best round of her first full season on the tour.

"Winning is always great, I’m ready for it to happen, but I’m not pushing it," said Perrot, a two-time winner last year on the Futures Tour. "I will really just try to focus on my game and what I’m feeling," Perrot said. "It’s too tough to worry about (other player’s) scores. I just try to control what I can control."

Sweden’s Liselotte Neumann (64) and South Korea’s Hee-Won Han (66) were 11 under. Rosales was nine-under-par along with Sherri Steinhauer.

Hall of Famers Juli Inkster (67) and Beth Daniel (70) were in a group at 8 under, and Annika Sorenstam was nine strokes back at 5 under after a 71.

Sorenstam, the 1997 champion at Twelve Bridges Golf Club, is making her first appearance in the tournament since 2001. She will be 35 on Sunday.

Perrot, two strokes off the lead at the start of the third round, pulled ahead on the cool, sunny day in nearly ideal conditions in the foothills of Sacramento.

After three-putting the 13th for a bogey, Perrot came back with three more birdies, including a 10-footer on No. 18.

Neumann has 13 LPGA Tour victories.

"It’s always nice to have been there before," Neumann said. "Nicole is aggressive. She’s a tough player. I don’t think she will be scared.

"I played extremely well. Actually, it could have been better. I missed a couple of short putts. Overall, it was one of my best ball-striking days in a long time. I was hitting the sticks all day."

Han won the Office Depot Championship on Monday in Rancho Palos Verdes.

"I played pretty good overall," Han said. "I will be looking at the leaderboard tomorrow. I will be confident after what I did last week."

Sorenstam, a seven-time winner on the tour this year, struggled with her putting. — With AP report