Michelle Wie can't handle the wind: 77

puts her out of State Farm picture

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois: Americans Kristy McPherson and Cristie Kerr share the lead after three rounds of the State Farm Classic at Panther Creek on a windy Saturday on the LPGA Tour.
Trailing by four shots after 36 holes, Kerr returned a six-under 66 after bogeying two of the final three holes. Then, McPherson (69) bogeyedher final two holes, and that left them tied at 12-under 204 heading into the last round in the final tune-up for next week's LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock.
Jiyai Shin (69) was a shot behind.
Second-round joint-leaders Se Ri Pak (72) and Suzann Pettersen (72) were part of a crowd at 10 under that included Ai Miyazato (65), In-Kyung Kim (69), Amy Hung (69), Angela Stanford (69) and Helen Alfredsson (71), who shot her way into contention with a 63 on Saturday.
Michelle Wie, meanwhile, fell out of the picture in conditions she could not handle with a 77 that left her at one under.
With wind gusting to 32 mph, Kerr and McPherson dominated at times before those late problems. Even so, they're in a good position and a familiar spot.
The LPGA Tour's money leader, Kerr eagled the par-5 first hole and started racking up the birdies -- six in all -- after that while rocketing to the top of the leaderboard. She was at 14 under after birdies on the par-5 13th and par-3 14th and alone in the lead before faltering down the stretch. She hit bunkers on both the 16th and 17th and two-putted for bogeys after decent shots out of the sand.
McPherson, meanwhile, missed a 5-footer for par on No. 17 where she was bunkered and finished her round by missing a 10-foot par putt on 18, but it was a good day overall for a player seeking her first victory in 56 career starts.
It was a tough one for Pak and Pettersen, though.
Bogey-free and tied for the lead at 10 under through the first two rounds, Pak and Pettersen simply were off target on a windy afternoon. Alfredsson tailed off, too, after vaulting within a stroke of the lead.
Seeking her first win in two years, Pak just missed long birdie putts on the first two holes and bogeyed the par-4 fourth. A birdie on the par-3 fifth got her back to 10-under, but she missed an 8-footer for par on No. 8 and had a 2-footer on No. 9 lip out for another bogey, leaving her at 8 under.
Pettersen, winless since the 2007 LPGA Championship, bogeyed the fifth and missed a four-footer for par on No. 9 to go 8 under.
Alfredsson was steadier early on but nowhere near as spectacular as she was the previous day. She waved her right fist after sinking a 20-foot birdie on No. 5 and followed that with a birdie on the par-5 sixth, but a bogey on par-4 seventh halted her momentum.
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 216 (3x72) 6,746yd
204 Cristie Kerr 69 69 66, Kristy McPherson 69 66 69.
205 Jiyai Shin (Kor) 69 67 69.
206 Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 73 68 65, Se Ri Pak (Kor) 66 68 72, In Kyung Kim (Kor) 69 68 69, Amy Hung (Tha) 71 66 69, Angela Stanford 70 67 69, Helen Alfredsson (Swe) 72 63 71, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 68 66 72
207 Jee Young Lee (Kor) 66 69 72, Hee Young Park (Kor) 70 70 67
208 Hee-Won Han (Kor) 69 69 70, Sarah Lee 69 72 67, Karine Icher (Fra) 70 72 66
209 Joo Mi Kim (Kor) 70 68 71, Paula Creamer 69 71 69, Seon Hwa Lee (Kor) 69 68 72, Natalie Gulbis 68 72 69, Na Yeon Choi (Kor) 72 70 67, Amy Yang 69 69 71, Sarah Kemp (Aus) 72 70 67, Kris Tamulis 67 68 74
210 Taylor Leon 69 69 72, Meaghan Francella 69 68 73, Julieta Granada (Par) 69 73 68, Shanshan Feng (Chn) 69 70 71
211 Beth Bader 69 70 72, Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 70 72 69, Christina Kim 72 68 71, Pat Hurst 69 72 70, Anna Rawson (Aus) 71 71 69, Ya-Ni Tseng (Tai) 69 72 70, Ashleigh Simon (Rsa) 70 68 73, Jin young Pak (Kor) 69 70 72, Eunjung Yi (Kor) 72 67 72
212 Karen Stupples (Eng) 69 68 75, Chella Choi (Kor) 71 71 70, Juli Inkster 72 65 75, Morgan Pressel 69 69 74, Anna Grzebien 71 70 71, Haeji Kang (Kor) 74 68 70, Song-Hee Kim (Kor) 71 69 72, Katie Futcher 71 67 74, Becky Morgan (Wal) 73 69 70, Moira Dunn 69 66 77, Karin Sjodin (Swe) 71 71 70, Katherine Hull (Aus) 70 68 74
213 Anja Monke (Ger) 68 72 73, Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor) 70 69 74, Mikaela Parmlid (Swe) 70 70 73, Allison Hanna-Williams 71 69 73, Sarah-jane Smith (Aus) 70 70 73, Janice Moodie (Sco) 69 69 75, Meredith Duncan 69 72 72
214 Marisa Baena 69 71 74, Stephanie Louden 71 70 73, Anna Nordqvist 74 67 73, Laura Diaz 73 69 72, In-Bee Park (Kor) 69 70 75, Brittany Lang 69 72 73
215 Michelle Wie 70 68 77, Sun Young Yoo (Kor) 72 69 74, Young Kim (Kor) 70 70 75, Diana D'Alessio 70 71 74
216 Jackie Gallagher-Smith 72 68 76, Vicky Hurst 72 68 76, Meena Lee (Kor) 70 71 75, Soo-Yun Kang (Kor) 69 72 75, Nicole Castrale 70 72 74
217 Kyeong Bae (Kor) 71 69 77
219 Teresa Lu (Tai) 73 69 77