Las Vegan Louden eyes first LPGA Tour victory

Louden shot 2-under-par 69 Saturday for a 4-under 138 total, matching Reilley Rankin (68), Karin Sjodin (70) and Nicole Castrale (71).

Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, who got off to an eagle-birdie start, had a double bogey on the 15th hole and shot 71 to stand three strokes back in a tie for 10th with Juli Inkster (70) and five others.

Louden, who got into the field despite being the fourth alternate, said she’s ready for the final round.

“I feel confident about (today),” she said. “I will go out and enjoy the day and hit fairways and greens and see where it puts me at the end of the day.”

The four leaders are all seeking their first LPGA Tour victory.

“No matter who is up there, I know that I have played just as well as they have, and I want to win just as much as they do,” said Sjodin, a former Oklahoma State star who leads the tour in driving distance.

Rankin’s 68 matched Mi Hyun Kim and Young Kim for the low round of the day on a windy, but much drier, course at Cedar Ridge Country Club. Mi Hyun Kim and Angela Stanford (71) were one stroke behind the leaders. Se Ri Pak (71), Katherine Hull (69) and Virada Nirapathpongporn (70) were tied for seventh, two strokes off the lead.

Pak, who has 23 career wins, is the only player among the top nine who has more than one career victory.

Seven players were three strokes back, including Juli Inkster (70) and Ochoa (71), who took over the No. 1 ranking from Annika Sorenstam last week.

• CHAMPIONS — At Lakeway, Texas, Scott Hoch moved into position for his first Champions Tour victory, shooting 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead over D.A. Weibring into todays final round of the FedEx Kinko’s Classic.

Hoch, the only player in the field without a bogey in the first two days, had an 11-under 133 total.

D.A. Weibring was at 8-under 136, with Hale Irwin (68) and first-round leader Leonard Thompson (73) another stroke back.