Slow start, big finish for Mickelson

Phil Mickelson was already frustrated by his slow start in the third round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas.

Then he finally saw a scoreboard.

"I couldn't see the first five holes how anybody was doing," Mickelson said. "I walk up to the sixth tee and I see I'm 3 or 4 shots back. That was kind of rude awakening."

Lefty responded by hitting a perfect drive at the 394-yard sixth and then his approach to 5 feet. That was the first of his 7 birdies over the closing stretch for a 5-under 65 that kept him alone in the lead at Colonial at 12-under 198.

When he made a 17-foot birdie from the front edge of the closing hole, after the others had finished playing, Mickelson took a 1-stroke lead over Rod Pampling (63) and Stephen Ames (64).

Senior PGA Championship:ŒSteady Bernhard Langer held off Jay Haas' late run, which included a stunning eagle on Oak Hill Country Club's No. 17, and took the lead after the third round of the Senior PGA Championship in Rochester, N.Y.

Langer, the Champions Tour money leader, finished with an even-par 70 to put him at 2-over 212 for the tournament, a shot ahead of Haas and local favorite Jeff Sluman.

LPGA Corning Classic:ŒJeong Jang, fresh from two straight top-three finishes that moved her to fifth on the 2008 LPGA money list, shot a 3-under 69 to tie Erica Blasberg for the lead after three rounds at the Corning Classic in Corning, N.Y.

Playing with a bandage that conceals a painful cyst, Jang sank a 3-foot birdie putt on her final hole to tie Blasberg (70) at 7-under 209.

BMW PGA Championship: Robert Karlsson shot a 2-under 70 in windy conditions to take a 4-stroke lead after the third round of the BMW PGA Championship in Virginia Water, England.

Karlsson was tied for second 4 shots behind Paul McGinley overnight, but finished the third round leading Miguel-Angel Jimenez (72) and Oliver Wilson (73) by 4 shots.