Times wires
DANVILLE, Calif. - Michele Redman had gone so long without a win that she contemplated retiring this season. Rookie Ilhee Lee also questioned her future on the LPGA Tour.
Both are glad they stayed.
Redman, 45, holed out from 126 yards for eagle on the par-4 18th hole Saturday for a 4-under 68 and a share of the third-round lead in the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge with Lee and Beatriz Recari.
Lee, 21, a rookie from South Korea, also shot 68, and Recari had 70 to match the two at 12-under 204 on the Blackhawk Country Club course. Seminole's Brittany Lincicome, the first-round leader after a course-record 61, is 8 under after 71.
Redman, who had double bogey on the par-3 16th, hit an 8-iron approach on the 18th that landed 16 feet from the pin then rolled into the cup as the crowd cheered. Redman pumped her fist and smiled, then retrieved her ball and tossed it into the crowd.
"I knew I hit it pretty good," Redman said. "I mean, I don't know; I just kind of knew I hit a pretty good shot."
Redman hasn't won since 2000 and has only a handful of top-10 finishes over the past four years. She was seriously considering retirement before deciding to continue playing.
"I actually applied for the coaching job at the University of Minnesota, so I was pretty serious about it," Redman said. "But everything works out the way it's supposed to. That's how I'm looking at it right now."
Lee also thought about leaving the LPGA Tour after missing seven straight cuts in her first year on the tour.
"I started to wonder, 'Can I really make it out here, can I really survive on this tour?'??" Lee said. "Being away from home was very difficult. I challenged myself three tournaments ago, 'Let's give it all I got and see what I can do.'??"
PGA: Rocco Mediate holed out with a pitching wedge from 111 yards on the par-5 15th hole for his third eagle of the week and finished with 4-under 67 to maintain a three-stroke lead in the Frys.com Open in San Martin, Calif.
Mediate, 47, looking for his first PGA Tour victory in eight years, became the first player to make three eagles in a tournament since Tiger Woods in the 1998 Sprint International. He had a 17-under 196 total on the CordeValle Golf Club course in the Fall Series event.
Bo Van Pelt was second after 65, and Alex Prugh (66) and Tampa's Ryuji Imada (69) were five strokes back at 12 under.
