CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Quail Hollow Club's tree-lined, old-style setup has produced an impressive list of winners, ranging from Vijay Singh to Jim Furyk to last year's champion, Tiger Woods.

With Woods unable to defend his Wachovia Championship title following knee surgery, Anthony Kim moved a step away from joining that elite group — a month shy of his 23rd birthday.

The steady, focused, and less flamboyant Kim shot a 6-under 66 yesterday to take a four-shot lead over Jason Bohn and Heath Slocum after the third round.

Kim, an Oklahoma State alum from Texas who turned pro in 2006, is at 13-under 203 and as close as ever to his first PGA Tour win.

But the best way to describe how Kim has changed was not the long drives and six birdies yesterday, it was a short punch out on the third hole, when he decided not to try a low-percentage shot to reach the green.

"Six months ago I would (have) tried to go for it, and there was double or triple bogey written all over that," Kim said. "I chipped out, saved par, and that kept my round going. Little things like that have added to some good play."

Kim passed Bohn, the second-round leader and his playing partner, by sinking a 9-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole. Kim added another birdie at No. 14, then navigated through the course's tough closing stretch with his best golf of the round.

After getting up and down for par on the 17th, Kim ripped a 324-yard drive on No. 18 and hit his second shot to 7 feet. He made the birdie putt and walked off the course as the only golfer without a bogey on his scorecard and well ahead of one of the strongest non-major fields on the tour.

"I feel like I'm ready," Kim said of trying to become the eighth golfer in his 20s to win this year, "but you never know."

Bohn recovered from a poor day of putting with a chip-in for par on the 18th for a 72 and a second-place tie with Slocum (68). But Bohn was in awe of what he saw from Kim.

"It was awesome to chip in on the last hole, but I didn't play as well as I wanted to today," Bohn said. "I played with somebody who played extraordinarily good, almost Tiger-esque. He hit a lot of great shots. So it was fun. I got to watch good golf anyhow."

Hawai'i's Dean Wilson, a Castle High alum, started the day tied for eighth, but shot 74 and fell into a tie for 22nd at 214. Punahou alum Parker McLachlin shot 72 and is tied for 50th at 217.

LPGA TOUR

CREAMER LEADS INKSTER BY TWO IN SEMGROUP

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Paula Creamer looked as though she might blow away the competition yesterday at the SemGroup Championship, rolling in two long birdie putts and keeping bogeys off her card.

Another poor finish gave four players a decent chance, none of them named Lorena Ochoa.

Creamer made bogey on two of the last three holes for the second straight day in identical fashion — a three-putt on the 16th, a bogey from the bunker on the 18th — but still wound up with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot lead over 47-year-old Juli Inkster.

"When I was on the 15th green, my goal was to have a five-shot lead," Creamer said. "And I ended up having two shots. But I'm not going to complain. I'm sitting in a good position with the field that's out here and a course that plays hard. Having the lead in any tournament is something that you want going into Sunday."

Creamer was at 3-under 210 and will play in the final pairing with Inkster, whose 20-foot par putt on the 18th hole gave her a 4-under 67, the best this week at Cedar Ridge.

Ochoa, trying to join Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam in the LPGA Tour record books with her fifth straight victory, is eight shots behind.

The 26-year-old from Mexico finally ended her birdie drought at Cedar Ridge, but was done in by consecutive bogeys on the back nine that stalled her momentum, finishing with with a 71.

"I still think I can win," Ochoa said. "I think Annika won before coming from 10 shots behind. It could happen."

Brittany Lang, who tied for second in the 2005 U.S. Women's Open at Cherry Hills, closed with 11 pars for an even-par 71 and was only four shots behind at 214. Another shot back was Angela Stanford (71) and Leta Lindley (72).

ELSEWHERE

Champions Tour: Nick Price moved a step closer to his first Champions Tour victory, shooting a 5-under 67 yesterday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the FedEx Kinko's Classic at Lakeway, Texas.

Price had a tournament-record 12-under 132 total on The Hills Country Club course. Scott Simpson and Loren Roberts, who teamed together last week in the Legends of Golf tournament, were tied for second after matching 66s.

Spanish Open: Ignacio Garrido of Spain shot an even-par 72 yesterday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Spanish Open at Seville, Spain.

Garrido, whose father, Antonio, won the 1972 Spanish Open — less than three weeks after Ignacio was born — leads countryman Miguel Angel Jimenez (67) with a 15-under total of 201.

El Paso Golf Classic: Sweden's Kristina Tucker fired a 4-under 68 yesterday for a 10-under 134 total and a one-stroke lead over Leah Wigger (69), of Louisville, Ky., after two rounds of the Duramed Futures Tour's El Paso Golf Classic at El Paso, Texas.

Three players are tied for third at 5-under.

Kailua's Bridget Dwyer is at 74—143. Maui's Shayna Miyajima (75—152), Hilo's Leah Whiting (78—155) and Kaua'i's Lehua Wise (80-163) missed the cut.