Recari, Creamer share lead at Marathon

SYLVANIA, Ohio (AP) ― The Marathon Classic isn’t a match-play tournament.

Except for maybe this year.

Beatriz Recari birdied the two closing par 5s to catch Paula Creamer atop the leaderboard through 54 holes Saturday, setting up a head-to-head battle between players who are three shots clear of the field.

Recari, a 26-year-old Spaniard who has won twice on the LPGA Tour, conceded that it’s hard not to get caught up in a two-person competition.

“Definitely, it’s easier because you’re playing with the player closest to you in score,” she said. “You still have to do your best. You can’t control what she does, so you always have to stay focused on what you’re doing.”

They were at 12-under 201 after each shooting 4-under 67.

The showdown could be a preview. Recari is expected to make the European team for the Solheim Cup next month ― where match play rules ― and Creamer is one of the mainstays of the American side.

Creamer, who won in 2008 when the tournament was known as the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, led throughout the round by as many as two shots before Recari’s late surge at Highland Meadows.

She was pleased to find herself being the hunted instead of the hunter.

“I love this feeling,” said Creamer, who has nine wins but none since the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open. “I haven’t felt it for a while. I’ve normally been chasing the leaders, but this is great. This is right where I wanted to be.”

The last time she played in the same group with Recari, it was Recari who had the edge. In the third round of the Kia Classic in March in California, Recari shot a 69 when paired in the last grouping with Creamer, who had a 71. Recari, who had won the CVS last year, ended up winning in a playoff with Kim In-kyung. Creamer faded to a tie for 17th.

“She’s a great player,” Recari said. “It’s always great to play with her.”

Westwood gets another major shot

GULLANE, Scotland (AP) ― Lee Westwood has contended enough in the majors that he can identify important moments, even if he could barely see his ball.

He had a one-shot lead over Tiger Woods, standing in grass up to his knees in the dunes left of the par-3 16th hole. It was one of the few bad shots Westwood hit Saturday at Muirfield, and by far his worst predicament.

Westwood slashed at the ball and it didn’t reach the green. He used a putter to belt his next shot up the hill to 12 feet.

What followed was a finish that allowed him to believe he was closer than ever to ending his 20-year pursuit of a major.

Westwood poured in the putt to salvage bogey. He picked up two shots on Woods with a birdie on the next hole. He closed with a solid par, giving him a two-shot lead going into the final round, and most significant Sunday of his career.

“That was probably the biggest momentum thing I did all day ― walk off there with a bogey,” Westwood said. “That’s what’s been missing, making those putts. And back it up with a birdie at the next. Those are the sort of things you need to do.”

Had he made putts like that, Westwood might not have missed the playoff at the U.S. Open that Woods won in 2008 at Torrey Pines. Or the playoff at Turnberry in 2009. He might even have been able to hold off Phil Mickelson at the Masters in 2010.

Westwood is widely considered the best player of his generation without a major. Maybe that’s about to change.

The 40-year-old from England passed one big test when he outplayed Woods on another tough day at Muirfield for a 1-under 70 and grabbed a two-shot lead over Woods and Hunter Mahan, the only players still under par.