The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 79

2Jjc Cljarlottc (Dbscrticr TODAY'S RACE I MOTORSPORTS I 13F Dale Earnhardt Jr (left) will start from the pole today at Michigan (2 pm TNT) David Poole: Jeff Gordon is struggling for him wwwcharlottecom SUNDAY AUGUST 18 2002 SECTION PGA CHAMPIONSHIP I 3rd Round Starting units stand out but costly 2nd-half mistakes M0RRY GASH ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Justin Leonard leads the PGA Championship by three strokes Leonard won the 1997 British Open Smiling in the wind: Leonard leads PGA by 3 Woods trails 1997 British Open winner by 5 after 20-hole day By Ron Green Jr StaffWriter CHASKA Minn Late Saturday afternoon with wind-reddened cheeks Justin Leonard looked up from under the bill of his khaki cap and sighed Having walked stoically through a windstorm piecing together a 3-under par 69 that was better than anyone thought possible when the windswept day dawned Leonard found himself with a three-stroke lead in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club Leonard who has a 54-hole total of 9-under par 207 is three ahead of Rich Beem who convinced himself he belongs this close to a major champi- prove decisive PATRICK SCHNEIDER STAFF PHOTO Saturday Smith who finished Scott Fowler played in front of its second straight crowd of 60000 or more and no small feat given the Panthers drew 21070 in its final home game last season against eventual Super Bowl champion New England SEE FOWLER I 14F season PGA Leader Board 3RD ROUND SCORES Justin Leonard -9 2 Rich Beem -6 3 Fred Funk -5 4 Tiger Woods -4 4 Mark Calcavecchia -4 TODAY ON TV llam-2 pm TNT 2-7 pm CBS WBTV Ch3 INSIDE I7F I Davis firm will redesign Greensboro course onship trophy Fred Funk is four back at 212 while Tiger Woods and Mark Calcavecchia are tied five behind Leonard the zone I was in it but not real sure about that zone stuff" Leonard said after shooting the only score under SEE PGA I 17F best-of-3 series and will play the New York-Indiana winner in the conference finals The Sting which has struggled to draw fans and could be relocated is the only team without an NBA connection The WNBA has overseen team operations since the Hornets moved to New Orleans too numb to have a gut feeling right said coach Anne Donovan who fought postgame tears Said guard Andrea Stinson: Tm not even thinking about that right A bad omen was the crowd of 6038 below average SEE STING I 7F Carolina Panthers running back Lamar Smith pushes his way through the defense of Dallas' Greg Ellis (98) with 24 yards on five carries shared time on the first team with rookie DeShaun Foster MYSTICS 62 STING 59 Lead season slip away from Sting These Panthers show life promise despite 2 losses feated the Panthers 19-16 before 60713 in an exhibition at Ericsson Stadium on Saturday night Second-half mistakes by second- and third- teamers spoiled a near perfect first-half performance by the first team Dallas rookie Derek Ross a Rock Hill product set up the winning score by intercepting rookie quarterback Randy Fasani was very proud of the way our first team played but you win games in the National Football League when you turn the ball over and we turned it over in the second half and it cost us the said Panthers coach John Fox The game was delayed 35 minutes because of lightning and heavy rain but the Panthers started fast SEE PANTHERS I 14F Washington advances Charlotte awaits word on its future in league By Cliff Mehrtens StaffWriter If this was WNBA finale the Sting is not leaving as a scintillating story The Washington Mystics eliminated the Sting 62-59 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Saturday at Charlotte Coliseum Washington which had not won a playoff game swept the You could see it in the traffic jams You could see it in the crowd that patiently waited out a lightning-heavy downpour that delayed the game by 35 minutes This is a city aching to fall in love again with the Carolina Panthers hoping the 2002 team is worthy of its affection extremely early But the initial flirtation looks promising despite Carolina losing its second straight exhibition Saturday night Even though Dallas won 19-16 the Panthers had hearts beating faster again Carolina COWBOYS 19 PANTHERS 16 Seder's 25-yard field goal with 5:34 left secures Cowboys' win interception set up kick By Pat Yasinskas StaffWriter It rained and rained but the not quite over Despite a very strong perform mance from the first-team offense and defense in the first half the Carolina Panthers still won since Sept 9 200L Tim Seder made a 25-yard field goal with 5 minutes 34 seconds left as the Dallas Cowboys de College Football 8F How Holtz came to South Carolina Former Gamecocks assistant topped wish list but was hardly a sure bet for head coach Questions asked and answered about the coming ACC football season High School Football 3F and 9-12F Quarterbacks highlight Digest Simmons commits to Wolfpack COLLEGE BASKETBALL RALEIGH West Brunswick High forward Cedric Simmons rated No 27 in the class of 2004 by recruiting analyst Brick Oettinger committed to NC State on a visit Saturday his high school coach said Simmons 6-foot-9 and 200 pounds averaged 12 points seven rebounds and three blocks as a sophomore In a state AAU qualifier against the Charlotte Blazers Simmons had 24 points 14 rebounds and nine blocks for the Wilmington Warriors jy Simmons would become the third prominent Brunswick County player to go to NC State joining Chucky Brown (1986-89) of North Brunswick and Ricky Daniels of West GREGG D0YEL Terrell Davis decides to retire I 15F Clemmons falls in Little League World Series I 7F Reach The Observer Sports News (704) 358-5125 Fax (704)358-5110 E-mail obsportscharlotteobservercom wwwcharlottecom I This Friday marks the beginning of the season for many teams in the area Inside this section is a four-page pullout looking at the season I Power Prep Scrimmage shows off talented pool of athletes Quarterbacks (from left to right): Troy Goss Chip English Ren McKinnon and Zach Elliott 1 fr Ittdl.