LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Michelle Wie failed to finish below par for the sixth straight round in a major yesterday, shooting an even-par 72 and falling 11 strokes off the lead at the Women's British Open.

The 16-year-old from Hawai'i made three birdies, the most she's made in a single round this week, but also had three bogeys.

"I'm not making birdies," Wie said. "That's the bottom line. I'm playing well. My scores aren't coming through. It's very frustrating when I play. But I feel it's all going to come down tomorrow."

She was particularly disappointed in the way she played the four par-5 holes, on which she had three pars and one bogey.

"I hit some good drives off the par 5s today, but I did not take advantage of them at all," she said. "That is very frustrating when you do that, but maybe I will just eagle all of them tomorrow."

Wie, who left herself with several putts in the 30- to 40-foot range, said she had difficulty controlling her irons.

"That is what kept me from making a lot more birdies," she said. "I feel like at the end of my round my irons got a lot better. I am hitting them more online and understanding the firmness of the greens and I think tomorrow I will be able to hit them better."

Maybe Wie could pick up some pointers by watching Sherri Steinhauer play the links course.

Steinhauer enjoys playing at Royal Lytham — and it shows. She rolled in a 50-foot putt on the way to a 6-under 66 to take a three-stroke lead into today's final round.

After 46-year-old Juli Inkster squandered the three-stroke lead she held following the second round, the 43-year-old Steinhauer took over on the course where she won the first of her two British Open titles to move to 7-under 209 after three rounds.

"I have great memories from here," said Steinhauer, who won at Royal Lytham in 1998. "When we came back here in 2003 I wasn't swinging well and I did miss the cut. I didn't play well. But I'm swinging better now and I just love this golf course."

Inkster (74), Lorena Ochoa (65), 2000 British Open champion Sophie Gustafson (69) and 2004 winner Karen Stupples (70) were all at 4-under 212. Annika Sorenstam, who won the event in 2003, was seven strokes back after she shot a 1-over 73.

Steinhauer picked up five shots in six holes on the back nine on the same course where she recovered from an opening-round 81 to win the title in 1998. In addition to her long eagle putt at the 464-yard par-5 15th, she made putts of 25 and 30 feet for birdies.

"It was just one of those days when I could just feel that I was in a zone. I just stayed out of my way and really just enjoyed the day," said Steinhauer, whose back-to-back British Open titles in 1998-99 came before the tournament became a major.

The second of those victories came at Woburn. But the American has won only one tournament, the 2004 Sybase Classic, in 6 1/2 years since then. In 2003, she missed the cut in all four majors.

"I'm not going to hide it. I'll definitely be nervous and I just hope I can keep my nerves under control and just enjoy the position," Steinhauer said.

Trying to become the oldest LPGA player to win a major, Inkster birdied the first hole before her round fell apart. She made a double-bogey 7 at the seventh where she drove into a fairway bunker and then three-putted when she finally reached the green. She found another bunker at the 10th and two-putted from 3 feet for another double bogey.

"I was in a couple of the bunkers on No. 7 and 10 and made two doubles there, but I do not think I played that bad," Inkster said. "I did not putt as well. I did not make some 5-footers that I have been making out there."

Ochoa shot the best round of the tournament so far. She started and finished with birdies and had five more in between without a single bogey to move into the group tied for second.

Sorenstam's chances of winning her 11th major and second in a row look slim. She was only a shot back at one point but three bogeys hurt her.

"I've very disappointed by the ending but I'm feeling good," she said. "I'm not giving up. I'm getting no breaks just like the whole year."

Wie, penalized two strokes on Friday for making contact with a piece of moss behind her ball, is at 4-over 220 and tied for 32nd. After placing in the top five in her last four majors, she's now in danger of her worst finish in her 12th attempt to win one of the top tournaments in women's golf.

Still, she remains confident she'll finish strong.

"Well, nothing is impossible. A lot can happen tomorrow," Wie said. "I play my hardest and try my hardest out there. ... Tomorrow is a whole new day. I will forget about today and work on a couple of things. I feel like I am playing well enough to shoot a really low score here."

LPGA.com contributed to this report.