Miyazato leads at Evian

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) ― With teen amateur Lydia Ko of New Zealand in pursuit, Mika Miyazato of Japan held a one-stroke lead Saturday after two rounds at the Evian Championship.

Miyazato shot a 2-under 69 and was at 8 under with a round to go in the fifth and last women’s major of the year.

The four-round tournament was cut to 54 holes after rain left the greens soggy. The course dried out somewhat Saturday but more showers are forecast for the final round.

Ko, who is 16 and plays with great composure, had four birdies in an error-free 4-under 67. Her only problem seemed to be her glasses, which did not cooperate in the weather.

“I’m having to clean all the time,” she said. “I really want to get contacts. Cars have got wipers, they should design one for glasses. I would myself if I could.”

Miyazato, whose day started with bogeys on the first two holes, is looking for her first U.S. LPGA title this year. Suzann Pettersen of Norway bogeyed her two holes on the back nine but had four birdies ― as did Miyazato ― for a 69 to share second with Ko. “I didn’t play my perfect game of golf out there, but I made a few really good pars,” Pettersen said.

Ko successfully defended her Canadian Women’s Open title last month, and her game has not lost any of its touch.

“I definitely gave myself a lot of opportunities,” she said. “Hopefully it will be a good day tomorrow. But I can’t hit it as good as I did today every single day.”

Stacy Lewis, ranked No. 2, is two shots back in fourth after a 67. The American is chasing her second major title this season after last month’s British Open.

Top-ranked Park In-bee faces an enormous task in her bid for golf history. The South Korean is trying to become the first professional to win four majors in a season.

She is 11 strokes off the lead. She opened with a 74 and followed with a 71 that included a double bogey on the fourth hole. She had to wait until the 13th for her first birdie of the day.

Three South Koreans ― Pak Se-ri, Chella Choi and Ryu So-yeon ― and Lindsey Wright of Australia are all three shots behind Miyazato. The oddest round of the day belonged to Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall: two double bogeys, two bogeys, a hole in one on the 16th and seven birdies.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) ― South Korea’s Noh Seung-yul shot a 1-under 70 in tricky wind conditions Saturday to take a three-stroke lead in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, the third of four events in the Web.com Tour Finals series.

“Yesterday the wind was hard, but it was really consistent,” Noh said.

“It was easier to control the distance because it was consistent. Today the wind was swirling and then came up a little bit and died a little bit. It wasn’t consistent and made things tougher on the second shot.”

BMW Championship

LAKE FOREST, Illinois (AP) ― Jim Furyk was 10 shots worse and right where he wanted to be Saturday in the BMW Championship.

One day after Furyk had a 12-under 59 to become the sixth player in PGA Tour history to shoot golf’s magic number, he did enough right on the back nine at Conway Farms for a 69 and a one-shot lead over Steve Stricker.