HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Jerry Kelly remembers his last PGA Tour victory too well.

"It was '02. Oh, too long ago," Kelly said yesterday.

He could be 18 holes away from ending that nearly 5-year-old dry spell since the 2002 Western Open.

Kelly used a hole-in-one to move past a fading Ernie Els and into a one-shot lead at the Verizon Heritage.

When Kelly stepped to the 200-yard, par-3 fourth hole, he was two shots behind Els, who looked like his smooth-swinging, Big Easy persona the first two rounds. But Kelly stunningly caught his playing partner with a 4-iron shot that hit the green, bounced to the flag stick and dropped in.

"That was like a small, little dagger," Els said.

And Kelly wasn't done.

He tapped in for birdie on the next hole to move in front, then added two more birdies to extend the lead to two shots. When Kelly knocked in an 8-footer for birdie on the 12th hole, he was three strokes ahead of the field.

Kelly finished with a 67 and, at 13 under 200, stood a stroke ahead of Els (71), who made a 35-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, and Kevin Na (66).

Coming off a tie for fifth at the Masters — his first top 10 at a major — Kelly was gunning for more milestones. He says he's never led a tournament after three rounds and is ready to add a third PGA Tour title to his resume.

All he'll have to do is outplay the world's fifth-ranked player, and a three-time major winner, in Els for a second straight day.

"I kind of relish trying to do that," Kelly said. "They make me happy. They don't scare me."

Masters winner Zach Johnson kept up his inspired play after his emotional, draining triumph at Augusta National. His 66 left him four shots back along with Stephen Ames (64), Vaughn Taylor (67), Sean O'Hair (69) and Stephen Leaney (70) at 204

Kane'ohe's Dean Wilson shot a second consecutive 68 and was at 205.

LPGA TOUR

GINN CO-LEADER OCHOA TAKES SHOT AT NO. 1 RANK

REUNION, Fla. — For three days, Lorena Ochoa and Laura Davies have matched each other shot for shot at the Ginn Open, finishing every round knotted atop the leaderboard.

Today, if Ochoa can pull away, she'll take home more than the $390,000 first prize.

The reigning LPGA player of the year shot a 2-under 70 yesterday, remaining tied for the lead with Davies at 14 under 202 through three rounds of the Ginn Open. Both birdied the final hole to move four shots ahead of Brittany Lincicome (67) and Natalie Gulbis (71).

If Ochoa gets the win, the 25-year-old Mexican star will pass Annika Sorenstam — who withdrew from the Ginn because of ruptured and bulging disks in her back that will keep her sidelined for at least a few weeks — as the world's top-ranked player.

"It's something I would love to achieve," Ochoa said. "But I think it's more important to focus on the tournament, focus on my day, do my own thing, make sure I'm patient and just playing smart golf."

Any other finish will keep Ochoa at No. 2 when the new list comes out tomorrow.

Sorenstam has been the best player in women's golf for several years, but the official ranking system has only been out since February 2006. She had a huge lead when the first list came out, but Ochoa has won seven times since to close the gap.