The two-time defending champion shot a 5-under 67 and left the retiring Sorenstam in her wake after two rounds of the rain-shorted $2 million Sybase Classic on Saturday in Clifton, N.J.

Ochoa will enter today's final round of the now 54-hole tournament with a 9-under 135 total and a two-shot lead over third-year tour player Teresa Lu and veteran Sophie Gustafson. South Koreans H.J. Choi and Na Yeon Choi -- no relation -- are three behind.

Brittany Lang was four back and Sorenstam, who announced Tuesday that this would be her final year on the LPGA Tour, was five behind after a 1-over 73 that included a double bogey after hitting a tree on a par 5, and a bogey on her final hole.

"I don't need any more motivation," said Ochoa, who will be looking for her six win of the year. "I am pretty motivated to win. And about Annika having all this time from the media, she deserves it. She knows I like to win, and I want to be on the top this year."

Ochoa has won 16 of 23 LPGA events in which she has taken the lead into the final round, including all five this year and six in a row dating to last year.

ALSO SATURDAY

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Andy Bean birdied the final hole to take a one-shot lead over Mike Goodes heading into the final round of the Regions Charity Classic with two of the top Champions Tour players in close pursuit.

Loren Roberts and Denis Watson were just two strokes behind after closing the gap with matching 66s. Bean capped a second-round 68 with a 15 1/2-foot birdie putt on the 7,356-yard Ross Bridge course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Hoover, Ala.

Goodes nearly matched the strong finish to preserve the tie for first place for a second straight day, but settled for par when his try for birdie fell inches short.

Goodes is shooting for his first tour victory today. An amateur until joining the 50-and-over circuit two years ago, the North Carolina businessman has had to qualify for all six of his events this year and can earn a year's exemption with a win.

Mike Hulbert was three shots back, and Joey Sindelar was four off the lead after both shot 68s. Leading money winner Bernhard Langer bogeyed the final hole for a 71 and was five shots off the lead, while two-time defending champion Brad Bryant (70) was nine shots behind.

IRISH OPEN: Bradley Dredge had seven birdies in a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead after the third round in Adare, Ireland.

Dredge, who lost to Padraig Harrington in a playoff here last year, overcame a slow start by making six birdies over the last 10 holes to sit at 9-under 207. Richard Finch, who won the New Zealand Open in December, was one shot back after a 65.