Maria Hjorth closed in on her first LPGA Tour victory in seven years, Cristie Kerr had one bad hole and Annika Sorenstam remained on the fringe of contention Saturday at the State Farm Classic.

Hjorth shot a 2-under-par 70 and was 14 under after the third round at The Rail Golf Club, one stroke ahead of Seon-Hwa Lee (69) and Il Mi Chung (70).

Tied for the lead with Hjorth when the day began, Kerr triple-bogeyed the par-3 seventh hole and shot an even 72 to fall into a tie for fourth at 12 under with veteran Nancy Scranton, who fired a career-low 63.

Sorenstam (69), who was six back when the day began, seemed on the verge of falling out of contention before two late birdies put her at 9 under.

Hamilton's Alena Sharp shot a 5-under 67 _ her best ever LPGA round _ to move into a tie for 13th. Salimah Mussani of Burlington, Ont., had 74 and is tied for 65th.

Hjorth put herself in good position by shooting a 65 on Thursday and was 12 under heading into the third round.

She sank a 20-foot putt for birdie on the second hole to take a one-stroke lead and birdied the fourth to go 14 under after a nice approach shot. Kerr also birdied No. 4 after digging out of the sand to remain a stroke behind.

Then came that seventh hole.

Hjorth bogeyed the 185-yard hole, which was much better than what Kerr did. Her tee shot settled against a tree, and although Kerr hacked her way out, she three-putted for a triple bogey that left her 10 under.

Hjorth's only tour victories were in 1999, her second year, when she won the Safeco and Mizuno Classics. The years since haven't been kind.

Her swing went awry. She had to go back to qualifying school.

Recently, she's had good rounds. Now, she's having a good tournament.

The Swede has played well here before, tying for fifth last year and for 17th two years ago _ her best finish of 2004.

With Hjorth and Kerr having some difficulties, this seemed like a good opportunity for Sorenstam to make a run. Birdies on 15 and 16 put her at 9 under and left her with some hope for Sunday.