South Korea's Seo hangs onto lead but storms rule at U.S. Women's Open

Hee Kyung Seo of South Korea moved to the verge of winning the U.S. Women's Open yesterday, finishing with a one-shot lead over countrywoman So Yeon Ryu, who had three holes left when play was suspended by darkness.

On a grueling 36-hole day at the Broadmoor, Seo shot a pair of 3-under 68s to finish at 3-under 281 and close in on her first major championship.

Returning along with Ryu today are Cristie Kerr, who is two shots back with two holes to play, and Angela Stanford, who is three behind with four holes left.

ESPN2 will air the completion at 10 a.m.

Barring a playoff, Seo won't have to hit a shot today. If nobody catches her, she'll collect the trophy for her first major victory and only her second on the LPGA Tour.

Lasering in on an electrified Broadmoor course that hardly anyone else could tame yesterday, Seo made four straight birdies to close out the front 9 of her fourth round at 5-under 31. She gave a stroke back on No. 10 and teed off down the fairway on 11 when the most familiar sound of the entire tournament - the weather warning siren - sounded again and cleared the players off the course.

Seo stood at 4-under par with eight holes left in what was supposed to be a 36-hole Sunday. She led Stanford by one and Ryu, by two, with Kerr another shot back.

Sparked by a win last season at La Costa, where she got in on a sponsor's exemption, Seo is on the LPGA Tour full time this season. She won a U.S. Open qualifier in New Jersey earlier this summer.

In other tournaments:

 * At Inverness, Scotland, Luke Donald enjoyed the perfect warm-up for next week's British Open with a 9-under 63 to win the Scottish Open by four strokes, his first victory since becoming the world No. 1 in May. The 33-year-old Englishman started the third and final round on the Castle Stuart links course a shot behind a trio of joint leaders but collected nine birdies in a bogey-free display for a winning total of 19 under.

* At Silvis, Ill., Steve Stricker sank a 25-foot putt from off the 18th green to win the John Deere Classic for the third straight year. The putt capped a roller coaster afternoon for Stricker, who fell behind rookie Kyle Stanley by two shots on the back nine, then birdied the final two holes to close with a 2-under 69.