Davies, Ochoa still share the lead. Laura Davies and Lorena Ochoa will golf the final two rounds of the Ginn OPEN in the same group, but have matched scorecards through 54 holes to take a four-stroke lead going into the final round with 66-66-70=202 (-14). They lead the duo of Natalie Gulbis (69-66-71=206) and Brittany Lincicome (67-72-67=206) tied for third at 10-under-par.

A win for Davies would be her first since 2001, when she won the Wegmans Rochester International. Her best finish on the LPGA Tour last season was a tie for second at the 2006 Evian Masters, which was her only top-10 finish on Tour last year. Of Davies' 20-career LPGA Tour wins, she has been the 54-hole leader or co-leader 12 times and won eight times, never finishing below a tie for third. Ochoa, meanwhile, won six times last year and already has one victory in the books for 2007 at the Safeway International Presented by Coca-Cola. Ochoa missed out on the winner's check last year by two strokes in a tie for second with Karrie Webb. In Ochoa's career, she has been the 54-hole leader or co-leader six times and won three times, never finishing below a tie for second.

Play suspended. Heavy fog rolled into the area shortly after third-round play at the Ginn OPEN began on Saturday. Play was suspended for 49 minutes from 7:45 to 8:34 a.m. ET.

Ginn OPEN is season's second Winner event. This week's $2.6 million Ginn OPEN has not only one of the most coveted winner's checks on Tour at $390,000, but also is a coveted title in the LPGA Playoffs 2007. Because the purse is over $2 million, the Ginn OPEN is one of 10 Winner events in the LPGA Playoffs 2007 and, therefore, the winner automatically qualified for the ADT Championship. Morgan Pressel was the first to qualify for the ADT Championship with her win at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Thirty-two players will fill the field at the ADT Championship via the LPGA Playoffs 2007 for their chance to be the second female professional golfer ever to win a $1 million first-place check.

Ochoa's quest for number one. Reigning Rolex Player of the Year Lorena Ochoa has been at the top of the leaderboard all week at the Ginn OPEN in Reunion, Fla. Should she win this week's Winner event within the LPGA Playoffs 2007, Ochoa would also replace Annika Sorenstam as the number one player in the world on the Rolex Rankings. Sorenstam, who has been the top-ranked female professional golfer in the world since the Rolex Rankings were released in February 2006, had to withdraw from the Ginn OPEN due to a recent back injury.

Earlier in the week, modifications to the Rolex Rankings were announced. Utilizing the present 104-week “rolling” period, performance in the preceding 13-week period is given the most emphasis with a gradual decline over 91 equal decrements. The Rolex Rankings were first published in February 2006 as the first-ever world rankings system for women's golf sanctioned by the five major women's professional golf Tours: the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA); Ladies European Tour (LET); Ladies Professional Golfers' Association of Japan (LPGA of Japan); Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA); Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG); as well as the Ladies Golf Union (LGU), which administers the Weetabix Women's British Open.

Gulbis looks for first LPGA Tour win. With three sub-par rounds, Natalie Gulbis finds herself tied for third place and four shots off the lead going into Sunday's final round at the Ginn OPEN. Gulbis, who has accumulated over $2.5 million in career earnings, is currently at 10-under-par 206 (69-66-71) and four shots behind leaders Laura Davies and Lorena Ochoa. Although she has recorded 19 top-10 finishes in the last three seasons, Gulbis is still looking for her first victory on the LPGA Tour. The closest Gulbis has come to a professional victory was last year at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, where she lost to Mi Hyun Kim on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff.

Lincicome in contention after solid third round. Brittany Lincicome put herself into a good position on Saturday at the Ginn OPEN, carding her second 67 of the week and finds herself tied for third and four shots off the lead. Lincicome, who is currently at 10-under-par 206, recorded an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys during the third round for a 54-hole total of 67-72-67. She goes into Sunday looking for her second victory on the LPGA Tour after becoming a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2006 HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship last season. Lincicome is coming off a tie for second place at the Kraft Nabisco Championship two weeks ago, her best finish in a major championship.

Kim, Webb posts field-low 66. Birdie Kim, the dramatic 2005 U.S. Women's Open champion, fired a field-low 6-under-par 66 during the third round of the Ginn OPEN and jumped up the leaderboard from a tie for 27th to a tie for seventh at 7-under-par with a three-day 74-69-66=209. Kim, who has made just two cuts in five starts this season, had a bogey-free round with six birdies, including five in seven holes (five through 11).

Karrie Webb, who won five times on Tour in 2006, carded her lowest round of the season with a 6-under-par 66 to pull into a tie for 18th at 4-under-par 212 (72-74-66). Webb's previous low round this season was a 69 during the second round of the Fields Open in Hawaii earlier this season.

Third-round interviews:
Lorena Ochoa | Laura Davies | Brittany Lincicome | Natalie Gulbis

Lorena Ochoa, 66-66-70=202 (-14)
Scorecard: Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: bogey – driver into right rough, second shot long into left rough, sand wedge to 20 feet, two-putt
Hole 6, 415-yard par 4: birdie – 9-iron from 140 yards to seven feet
Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – driver on green to 30 feet, two-putt
Hole 9, 492-yard par 5: birdie – 5-wood on green in two to 35 feet, two-putt
Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: birdie – 5-wood on green in two to 25 feet, two-putt
Hole 14, 387-yard par 4: bogey – 9-iron from rough short of green, chip from to seven feet, missed putt
Hole 16, 194-yard par 3: bogey – 5-iron long to 35 feet, three-putt
Hole 18, 421-yard par 4: birdie – 7-iron to seven feet

PAM WARNER: Hi Lorena, you had another great round out there. You're currently at 14 under and tied with Laura Davies for the lead going into Sunday's final round. Talk about your round today.
LORENA OCHOA: Hello. It wasn't a good day. Again I had a little trouble on the third hole. I made a bogey and then I was able to finish the front nine and I think I played very consistent all day. I'm really happy. I felt good with my irons, with my driver. I made a silly mistake on the 14th, I was 125 yards to the green and made a bogey there that really changed my momentum. But made up for it on 18 with a birdie, putting it back in a good position and I feel much better right now to go and get ready for tomorrow.

Q. You almost won this thing last year, anything about this golf course that suits you or that you like particularly? Of course it's not the only course you've played good on over through the year, but you have played well here.
LORENA OCHOA: I do like the course. I think you're so comfortable on a course that you have good memories and what happened last year, I played good golf for a week and I gave myself a chance to win the tournament.

I came here with a good feeling of the golf course and the whole place, so, yeah, it helps. Good vibes.

Q. If you win tomorrow you will pass Annika in the rankings. Will you be thinking about that at all?
LORENA OCHOA: No, nothing, it's not I don't have that like every shot, like, you know, every hole in my head. It's just something that I would love to achieve, and you know, I think it's more important just to focus on the tournament, focus on my day, don't even worry about Laura Davies. Just do my own thing and make sure I'm patient and just play smart golf. And then, you know, everything will come with a good day tomorrow.

Q. The weather is not supposed to be good tomorrow. Can you think back on past victories where you've won in bad weather
LORENA OCHOA: After I made that putt, I really thought, you know, I really need to make this because you never know if the tournament is going to be three days or if we're going to finish on Monday. That was an important putt.

I really, you know it's going to be the same for everybody. The weather is going to be the same for everybody and I think it should be a fun day tomorrow either, if it's raining hard or maybe we finish on Monday.

Q. You and Laura have been tied from the get go, is it more fun going into the last round pretty much stuck with the same player the entire time, same score card every day?
LORENA OCHOA: Yeah, I think it's fun and I love to play with Laura. She's such a nice lady to play with. She's a lot of fun and a lot of joking around. Today even an almost six hour round, she's enjoying yourself. You laugh about it and it's good to be around her. I love the way she reacts; when she does good, when she does bad. I think she's a great player to watch and I think tomorrow is going to be fun. I want to make sure we give a good exhibition for the fans and for us.

Q. Does it take so long because there's a couple of drivable par 4s and the par 5s are all reachable? Why does it seem to take so much longer?
LORENA OCHOA: I think it was pretty decent the first two days. Just today having so many players making the cut, when you play from both tees from both tees, it's only good for, you know, 72, 74, 73. I think there were more than 80 players.

So there's so many people on the course, you just can't play fast. When it's going to be a six hour round, just be patient out there.

Q. Does the pace of play not bother you?
LORENA OCHOA: No. We were ready with a lot of food in the bag and it was good out there.

Q. Who is longer, you or Laura off the tee? She's got this reputation of be able to hit it out there as far as most of the guys, and you're one of the longer hitters, too.
LORENA OCHOA: I think we're about the same. Just a couple yards in front, behind. I think we're about the same. She hits the ball good. I love to see her play good. You know, she's a player that when I grew up, I always see her, and like I said yesterday, you know, just being there with her is a good time.

Q. Are you able to hit the driver off the ground?
LORENA OCHOA: Maybe I could try it, just for fun. It looks hard (laughter). She is unique.

Q. Some fans from Ecuador came here just to see you play in the tournament; what does that mean to you to have so many people out there that are just drawn to you from South America?
LORENA OCHOA: It feels great to see them and feel the support. It was great to see the boys from Mexico with the Mexican flag running around all day. It does feel good. You know, just like I always say, you know, I play for all of them and hopefully they are having a good time and they have kids hopefully their kids really like the game and they can play the game.

So hopefully they will be here tomorrow. I saw a lot of gallery today; it was a big crowd and it makes a big difference. It feels really good. It's always nice to have a lot of people around the greens, and it was a good day for the galleries. Hopefully even with the bad weather, they will come tomorrow.

Q. For those of us who don't get to a lot of the LPGA events over the course of the year, is this one of the better ones in terms of what they do for the players and the setup of the golf course and the way you're treated and all those types of things?
LORENA OCHOA: It is. It's one of the top tournaments. Everything is just, the volunteers and when you're here in the clubhouse just the way they help and you treat you and the locker rooms and where we eat, the food is really good. We were just saying, everybody is staying here, renting a house really close. It's an easy week and they make us feel good. It's a nice tournament. It's also very nice to stay in a house. I only do that maybe four or five times a year and it makes a big difference because you feel more relaxed.

Q. How many people are staying in the house with you?
LORENA OCHOA: Me and Marisa Baena, but more and more people are coming. She is from Fort Lauderdale so a couple of her friends and more people are coming today, so we're going to have a full house tonight.
 

Laura Davies, 66-66-70=202 (-14)
Scorecard: Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: birdie – pitching wedge from 110 yards to four feet
Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – driver to 30 feet, two putt
Hole 9, 492-yard par 5: birdie – 5-iron to 40 feet, two putt
Hole 13, 408-yard par 4: double bogey – pitching wedge from 102 yards to 10 feet, missed putt
Hole 14, 387-yard par 4: bogey – 7-iron right of the green to 30 feet, three putt
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5: birdie – sand wedge from 109 yards to eight feet
Hole 18, 421-yard par 4: birdie – sand iron from 129 yards to eight feet

About her double bogey on 13.
LAURA DAVIES: A terrible tee shot on 13 really. Sliced it out to the right, was in a bush but got a good break. So I'm still in the path so I could have moved it forward, but I was still on the cart path and got a free drop and made a mess of the next one; so had to chip out again. So in the fairway for three and hit a pitching wedge to about 10 feet and missed the putt for double.

DANA GROSS RHODE: Obviously with the exception of the poor tee shot on 13, you've had a great tournament, but there's still Lorena Ochoa, keeping pace with you; but you have to be happy with the tournament so far.
LAURA DAVIES: Hopefully she's worried about me as well. Obviously she's the best player on form at the moment. I think even Annika would admit that.

Tomorrow is not going to be easy. I'm just pleased to be in this position. This time last year I missed the cut, so this is a lot more fun.

Q. What we've been talking about all week, it's been a while since you've won, but you've been there so many times; that being said, do you anticipate a little bit extra in the way of nerves, jitters that sort of thing tomorrow?
LAURA DAVIES: Absolutely. I fully expect not feeling too well on the first tee tomorrow, but that's what makes it fun. Even Europe last year when I was in quite a few last groups on Sunday, you still feel nervous because you just want to win. You really want to win the tournament badly, so hopefully I will; get over it after the first two or three holes, and hopefully relax and enjoy it and try to give Lorena something to worry about.

Q. Might seem like a silly question, but is it more fun or exciting when you're going against Sunday someone you've been tied with the whole week going back and forth?
LAURA DAVIES: Yeah, we've had matched score cards every day, so far that's nothing to split us. We've both done exactly the same thing. Yeah, I think it will be. It should be a good match. Hopefully the weather is not going to spoil it. From what I can understand, it's going to be pretty miserable tomorrow. That could ruin it. It could be survival of the fittest. It could be miserable out there; you won't be able to hit good shots. You've just got to survive.

Q. Do you think if the weather is miserable physical play into your hands?
LAURA DAVIES: See, if it's raining, I don't play golf. It's no fun at all. As far as I'm concerned golf in the rain is just no fun. But having said that, if it does rain tomorrow I'll just get on with it because, well, what else can you do?

Q. You don't think you'll pull out? (joking)
LAURA DAVIES: No, probably not.

Q. If it does rain, do you use a tee for your driver?
LAURA DAVIES: No, doesn't make any difference. No, doesn't make any difference.

Q. Lorena has become the top player out here; with a victory tomorrow she can take over the number one ranking in the Rolex Rankings. If that happens, eventually whenever it happens, do you think she can stay there for a long time?
LAURA DAVIES: It's debatable whether she can stay there as long as Annika has. I don't know when—the Official (Rolex Women's) World Rankings haven't been out that long, but Annika has been rated number one in the Rolex Rankings for ages. There's a lot of good young players, a lot of them that can challenge, but at the moment you'd have to say that Lorena is by far the best of rest.

Q. Forgive me for another Hall of Fame question, given your overall career, what you've done not just here but in Europe, are you maybe the one person that is hurt by a Hall of Fame your career as a whole is obviously a Hall of Fame career.
LAURA DAVIES: Yeah, but it's the LPGA Hall of Fame and I haven't quite done enough. If I had played in the sort of mid 90s, if I had played full time over here rather than going back and forth, I honestly think I'd have been in by now. But, you know, made my decisions back then to play more in Europe and now I'm struggling to get in.

You know, it's also a good challenge. I'm up for it and I think I'll do it. I might be, you know, I might be wrong, but I think I will. Might not be this week and another week. It might be two more down the line, who knows.

Q. Knowing what you know about Lorena, she's not just trying it figure out a way to not match your card or win a tournament, she's going to know like everybody else that a win will be number one in the Rolex Rankings; will that add pressure or does she have the makeup where she can insulate herself from that kind of thinking?
LAURA DAVIES: I just don't think it will phase her at all because she's so confident at the moment. She's won so many tournaments recently. I was in that position in '94 through '96. Just nothing worries you. You know you're going to win. You know you're playing well enough and you know you can make the birdies at the right time. I'm sure she'll be thinking that tomorrow. I'm sure she'll be thinking, ‘She hasn't won for a long time and I'm the best player.' She should be feeling confident tomorrow. It's up it to me to put pressure on her.

Q. Do you feel confident?
LAURA DAVIES: I am confident. I'm hitting it well. Like I said I'll be nervous but that's never a bad thing. I am confident. I think I'll go out and shoot a good round tomorrow, might be proven wrong, but I have to be sitting here thinking I'm going to; 14 under after three days on a tough golf course is decent stuff.

Q. Does the pace of play bother you?
LAURA DAVIES: Absolutely. It's ridiculous. Someone should have been shot I think. (Laughter) I mean, 5 hours and 45 minutes, that's insanity. I'm going to miss my flight tomorrow night because of this. I've got a flight to London at 5:25 p.m. So I think I can guess that good bye. I'm in the last group, so it's not bad.

Q. Do you have any idea why it was so slow?
LAURA DAVIES: They are foolish. They mess around on the greens. They look at things from a hundred angles. They don't just get on. That's why it was so nice playing with those two because they just get on it; Natalie picks a club, her and Greg, and they fire.

You see these other players, it's their turn to hit and they get the yardage book out and that's what takes the time. Again, it's the coaches, the pre shot routine, it's all got to be the same. Drives me mad.

Q. Will you be joking as much tomorrow as you did today?
LAURA DAVIES: Yeah, they are good friends of mine. It's a serious business, but it's still got to be good fun. If you're not enjoying it, you're wasting your time really. It's the best job in the world. Why not enjoy being in there Sunday with a chance, makes it enjoyable.

Q. Playing with the same group of people and having that much fun, does it make it that much easier for your nerves?
LAURA DAVIES: Exactly. If you've got a frown on your face walking down the fairway not talking to each other, chances are you might get a little more nervous about it.

Q. Are you going home?
LAURA DAVIES: I'm supposed to be, but like I said, I think that's pie in the sky now.

DANA GROSS RHODE: Laura, thank you for coming in. With the 20 wins in your career, 12 times you've been the leader or co-leader going into the final round and you've won eight, so best of luck tomorrow.
 

QUICK QUOTES

Brittany Lincicome, 67-72-67=206 (-10)
Q. You started six or seven back and you probably knew today would be the day. Talk about being in the hunt now and how it sets you up for tomorrow.
BRITTANY LINCICOME: I am hopefully just going to go out and do the same things I did today and yesterday. I hope my putter stays hot and I can give myself a couple of eagle chances. That is always fun, and just keep doing the stuff that I have been.

Q. There is some talk of elements coming in tomorrow, maybe some rain?
BRITTANY LINCICOME: Oh yeah, that is right (laughter). Everyone has to play in it so you just have to do your best to get pars; pars are going to be good tomorrow, especially if it's rainy and cold tomorrow. I'm not going to have to shoot too many under par to get back into it, so I'll just take my birdies when I can and move on.

Natalie Gulbis, 69-66-71=206 (-10)
Q. You started out with two bogeys early on, but seemed to keep yourself in it the rest of your round?
NATALIE GULBIS: Yeah, I hit a lot of really good shots today. I thought I played well, but I made a couple of mistakes early on with a couple of bogeys, but overall I feel pretty good.

Q. What are your thoughts going into tomorrow still in the hunt?
NATALIE GULBIS: I'm not sure what they are at, 13 or 14, so four shots back, I'm not that far back.