SNOQUALMIE, Wash. — Scott Simpson thought shooting 65 or 66 at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge wasn't out of the question for someone playing well.

Then he went out and proved it.

Riding a new putter, Simpson matched the lowest round of the tournament with a 6-under 66 yesterday and holds a two-shot lead entering the final round of the Boeing Classic.

The former Kailua resident made five birdies on the back nine, running off a string of one-putts and surging away from a pack of chasers to put himself in position for his first victory in nearly two years. It's the first time on the Champions Tour that Simpson leads going into the final round.

"I probably didn't hit it as good as today as I did yesterday, but my putter really got hot," said Simpson, a former U.S. Open champion. "It seemed like I was one-putting every hole."

Simpson started the day even with Mark Wiebe at 5-under, and made his charge on the back nine with birdies on Nos. 10, 11, 13, 14 and dropped a 15-footer on No. 16. Simpson avoided his first bogey of the tournament by dropping a 14-foot par putt on the 17th, then pared the 18th to hold a two-shot lead over David Edwards. Simpson had just 24 putts in his round, including one-putts on six straight holes between Nos. 9 and 14.

Simpson changed his putter after the U.S. Senior Open earlier this month and the results are impressive: he has just two bogeys in his last 104 holes.

Simpson's last victory came two years ago at the Wal-Mart First-Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

"It's great to get the putter rolling. Obviously it helps your score, but it helps your psyche as well," Simpson said.

PGA TOUR

PARAMUS, N.J. — Steve Stricker lost a ball and a big lead at sun-baked Ridgewood Country Club, leaving Kevin Streelman atop the leaderboard.

After fading his drive into the rough on the par-4 12th, Stricker's approach shot from a tough angle skipped along the far side of the left rough and into a tangled mess of shoulder-high grass, bushes and weeds.

Despite TV replays and a large search party, the ball couldn't be located and Stricker — four strokes ahead after 10 holes — took a penalty stroke and trudged back to the spot where he hit the costly shot.

Stricker advanced the new ball 40 yards short of the green, hit his fifth shot 30 feet past the hole and two-putted for a triple-bogey 7 to drop to 7 under.

By the time Stricker signed for a 6-over 77, he was four strokes back at 4 under in a 12-way tie for 11th. Kane'ohe native Dean Wilson shot a 67 and also was tied for 11th.

Streelman, a 29-year-old Q-school graduate in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, took the lead at 8 under with a 25-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-4 16th and parred the final two holes for a 68 and an 8-under 205 total.

LPGA TOUR

PORTLAND, Ore. — Helen Alfredsson shot a 67 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Safeway Classic at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.

Alfredsson matched her first round of 67 for a 10-under 134, one stroke ahead of Sophie Gustafson, who shot 68. Three strokes back of Alfredsson in third place at 137 are Paula Creamer (68) and Kelli Kuehne (70).

Lorena Ochoa and first-round leader Angela Park are in a group five shots back, and Annika Sorenstam rebounded from a first-round 72 to shoot 68, putting her among nine players at 140.