Herron and Pernice tied for St. Jude lead
MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 27 (UPI) -- Tim Herron and Tom Pernice Jr. both shot 2-under 68 Saturday to share the third-round lead of the FedEx St. Jude Classic at Memphis.
Kris Cox posted the lowest round of the week Saturday with a 7-under 63 and is third one stroke back at 204.
John Cook -- who owns the 36-hole, 54-hole and tournament records -- carded a 67 and is tied for fourth at 5-under 205 with Jay Delsing, who shot a 66 on Saturday.
Herron, last week's winner at The Colonial, could become the second player to win back-to-back titles on the tour this year. Phil Mickelson did it at the BellSouth Classic and the Masters.
Jeff Maggert (68) and Ryan Palmer (69) are tied for sixth place at 206. Two-time winner Nick Price (69), Briny Baird (68) and tour rookie Camilo Villegas (71) are tied for eighth place at 207.
Jang leads by 3 at LPGA Corning Classic
CORNING, N.Y., May 27 (UPI) -- Women's British Open champion Jeong Jang shot a 6-under 66 Saturday for a 15-under 201 and a three-stroke lead at the LPGA Corning Classic in New York.
Overnight leader and former U.S. Women's Amateur Champion Virada Nirapathpongporn had a 71 Saturday and is tied for second place at 204 with Nancy Scranton and Brandie Burton, both with 70s in round three.
Hee-Won Han posted a 69 and is alone in fifth place at 11-under 205.
Jang's only LPGA win was her four-stroke British Open victory last year at Royal Birkdale. She is ranked 10th in the world.
"After the win last year, I've been waiting," said Jang. "My swing is getting better and better. Just didn't make any putts. That helps, more than winning a tournament."
Morgan Pressel (68), Laura Diaz (67) and Kris Tamulis (69) are tied for sixth at 206.
Howell leads by 3 shots at Surrey
SURREY, England, May 27 (UPI) -- England's David Howell is the leader by 3 shots after three rounds of the European Tour's BMW Championship in Surrey, England.
Howell shot 3-under 69 Saturday and is 14-under 202 overall.
With a bogey-free 7-under 65, Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain is alone in second place at 11-under 205. Paul Casey (69) and Simon Khan (70), both from England, are tied for third at 8-under 208.
On a day again filled with light rain and firm winds, the players had to play two rounds after Friday's second round was suspended after a near two-hour rain delay and subsequent darkness.
"A 69 was a good effort in the conditions but Miguel has obviously played fantastically well to shoot 65," said Howell. "But I'm in a strong position -- there's a fair chance it's between the two of us."
Four players are tied for fifth at 6-under 210.
Gil Morgan leads Senior PGA Championship
EDMOND, Okla., May 27 (UPI) -- Gil Morgan turned in an even-par 71 Saturday to hold a one-stroke lead after three rounds at the Senior PGA Championship in Edmond, Okla., at 6-under 207.
The wind picked up on Saturday with some gusts reaching 30 mph. The change in conditions reflected in the scores as only two players out of 76 -- Dick Mast and Mike McCullough -- broke 70.
"The conditions weren't quite as bad as my golf," said Craig Stadler, who struggled to a 13-over 84, "but almost."
Brad Bryant -- who has two wins this year on the Champions Tour-- birdied his final hole for a 72 and finished the third round at 5-under 208.
Overnight leader Peter Jacobsen had a 4-over 75. He is tied with Loren Roberts (70), who has won three times this year on the Champions Tour. The two are knotted at 3-under 210.
Davydenko beats Pavel for Austria title
PORTSCHACH, Austria, May 27 (UPI) -- Nikolay Davydenko won his second straight Hypo Group Tennis International crown Saturday with a dominating performance against Andrei Pavel in Austria.
The top-seeded Russian, ranked sixth in the world, rolled to a 6-0, 6-3, victory for his sixth career ATP title.
"It seemed easy because of the result, but it is never really the case," said Davydenko. "I think I started really well. I was trying to make winners and fighting for every ball, and I had really good results. At the beginning of the second (set), he started to serve better and it became more difficult."
Davydenko was playing in his second tour final of the month, He fell to David Nalbandian three weeks ago in Portugal.
Pavel, a Romanian, was trying for his fourth career ATP crown.
Vaidisova wins at Strasbourg
STRASBOURG, France, May 27 (UPI) -- Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic Saturday won the Strasbourg International Tennis Tournament in France.
Vaidisova, who was the 2nd seed, outlasted unseeded Shuai Peng of China, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3, for her sixth career WTA title.
"I had to cut down on my errors to get back on track," said Vaidisova, who was inconsistent early. "She had a couple of chances in the tie-break to take the set, but I was luckier. We were both nervous. I was up, 3-0, in the second set and I let that get away from me, but managed to pull it out in the end."
Vaidisova, who is ranked 18th in the world, improved to 6-1 all-time in finals. She is the women's 16th seed at the French Open and will face Marta Domachowska of Poland in the first round.
Shuai will meet Elena Vesnina of Russia in the first round at the French Open, which begins Sunday.
Peer wins women's tennis event at Istanbul
ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 27 (UPI) -- Shahar Peer of Israel Saturday won the Istanbul Cup Tennis Tournament in Turkey.
Peer, who was the 4th seed, rallied to beat No. 1 Anastasia Myskina of Russia, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). The 19-year-old Peer has captured three titles this season.
"This is my biggest victory," Peer said. "To beat someone ranked as high as Myskina was an amazing end to the tournament. I never gave up and I kept believing in myself. It's great to win another tournament just before the French Open so I'm going to go to Paris really high on confidence."
Peer earned a first prize of $30,500.
Myskina, 24, was trying for her 11th career title. She won the 2004 French Open and will face Sania Mirza of India in the first round at Roland Garros, where the French Open -- the season's second Grand Slam event -- begins Sunday.
Croatia beats Germany for World Team title
DUSSELDORF, Germany, May 27 (UPI) -- Croatia Saturday beat host Germany to win the ATP World Team Championships title.
Ivo Karlovic and Ivan Ljubicic won their singles matches Saturday to give the Croats an insurmountable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three tie.
Karlovic defeated Germany's Alexander Waske, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, to give Croatia the early lead in the final, and Ljubicic sealed it with a 6-4, 6-4, win over Nicolas Kiefer.
The meaningless doubles match was delayed by rain before the German team of Waske and Michael Kohlmann posted a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, victory over Karlovic and Ljubicic.
Croatia and Germany each went 3-0 during the round-robin portion of the event to qualify for the final.
Germany defeated Argentina in last year's final and also won in 1998, 1994 and 1989.
Lance Armstrong drives Indy pace car
INDIANAPOLIS, May 27 (UPI) -- Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong traded two-wheels for four to practice driving the pace car for Sunday's Indianapolis 500.
Armstrong took several laps behind the wheel of the 2006 Corvette Pace car Saturday to check out the track, the Indianapolis Star reported.
He received cancer treatment in 1996 at Indiana University Hospital before returning to a legendary cycling career.
Armstrong and his Discovery Channel Cycling Team host a bicycle race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August and the winner will ride as a team member at the U.S. professional cycling championship in September.
Armstrong's "Race to Replace" on Aug. 12 -- 10 laps or 25 miles around the oval -- will raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the IU Cancer Center.
