Palm-desert

Chad Campbell fired his fourth straight round in the 60s on Saturday but saw his lead dwindle to one stroke over Scott Verplank with one round to play in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Campbell, who started the day with a four-shot cushion, carded a five-under-par 67 for a 24-under total of 264.

Chad Campbell fired a third-round 68 in California on Friday to maintain his four-shot lead in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Campbell had a 54-hole total of 19-under-par 197 in the five-round event, four strokes in front of fellow American Scott Verplank (65) and Australia’s John Senden (68).

Chad Campbell will never be confused for a celebrity, but the easy-going golfer was thrust into the midst of three rock stars at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. It didn’t appear to affect his play as Campbell had the third-lowest round of the day, a six-under-par 66 that put him in the lead at 15-under 129 after the second round.

Phil Mickelson begins the 2006 United States PGA Tour season in Palm Desert, California, on Wednesday at the 90-hole Bob Hope Classic with hopes of claiming a major championship for the third year in a row. The 2004 Masters and 2005 PGA Championship winner is the only world top-10 player here.

Annika Sorenstam’s march to another LPGA milestone was overshadowed on Sunday by the disqualification of teen sensation Michelle Wie in her first professional start. Initially lost in the hype surrounding Wie’s professional debut, Sorenstam was the undisputed star on Sunday as she posted an eight-shot victory at the  000 Samsung World Championship, while Wie was disqualified.

Annika Sorenstam, her sights set on a fifth Samsung World Championship crown, surged to a four-stroke lead on Saturday. Sorenstam fired a third-round 66 on the Canyons course at Bighorn Golf Club for 201 and a four-stroke lead over South Korea’s Gloria Park, whose bogey-free 68 put her at 11-under 205.

Schoolgirl golf sensation Michelle Wie’s second professional round was a gem, but South Korean Grace Park emerged with the halfway lead on Friday in the  000 Samsung World Championship. Wie’s seven-under 65 was her lowest round on the LPGA tour.