Sorenstam extends lead

Annika Sorenstam, playing her first LPGA Tour event of the season, shot a four-under-par 68 to extend her lead to two strokes after 54 holes of the Safeway International in Arizona.

The Swedish ace eagled the second hole and birdied the last two to cap her third straight round in the 60s.

She made just one bogey and birdie in between, but her 16-under total of 200 is two shots better than Korean rookie Shi Hyun Ahn.

“Obviously, I’m happy with the start,” Sorenstam said. “Then in the middle of the round I was struggling a little bit with my shots, but I hung in there.

“I thought I made good par putts when I needed to and, obviously, to finish birdie-birdie helps.”

Cristie Kerr carded a 70 to end the day in third on 203, a stroke clear of Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa, Korean pair Grace Park and Se Ri Pak and Briton Laura Davies.

Michelle Wie is in ninth place on seven under at 209 after a 70 that the 14-year-old Hawaiian called her “hardest round of the week”.

“I went into the rough a lot,” Wie said. “I didn’t really hit my drivers that good today and I just had the worst lies.”