NAPLES, Fla. -- So Yeon Ryu was rarely so nervous, with so many great players all around her. She was in high heels, not golf shoes. She was giving a speech as the LPGA rookie of the year, not competing at the Titleholders. Compared with standing before a room full of stars under bright lights, playing golf Saturday while trying to stay close to Na Yeon Choi and Ai Miyazato seemed easy. "I was pretty nervous to prepare the speech," Ryu said about the Friday night awards dinner. "After speech, I was so much relieved, and I slept so well because I dont have to worry about speech thing. So maybe thats why Im playing great." She wasnt alone in that regard. Choi overcame a careless three-putt on the third hole and was steady the rest of the blustery day at The TwinEagles Club. She drilled a hybrid 5-wood to 15 feet for one last birdie on the par-3 17th for a 3-under 69 that gave her a one-shot lead over Miyazato. Miyazato took two chips to get onto the green and made double bogey on the par-5 second, and then laid up into a bunker on the par-5 fifth to make bogey and fall behind. She rallied with four birdies on the back nine to salvage a 71, and stay in the game. Right behind was Ryu, so relieved from the Friday night stress that she ran off four straight birdies on the front nine before she slowed on the back. Maybe there was a reason for that, too. The 22-year-old South Korean says her lower back tightened at the turn, which she said might have been caused by wearing high heels to the dinner. "Im not really big high-heel fan," she said. "Yesterday was a special day, so thats why I took a high heel. I think it looks pretty great." What feels just as good is being in the final group with Miyazato, one of the friendliest players in golf, and Choi, whom Ryu regards somewhat of a big sister. The South Koreans are good friends, and they happen to be the last two U.S. Womens Open champions. "We know each other very well, so I can talk about non-golf, just like What are you doing in the winter? or something like that," Choi said. "So I think thats going to be a help for focusing on the game. I think its good to be rivals for each other. Even during the tournament, if she has birdie, I feel I can have birdie, too. I think it motivates each other, so it should be fun tomorrow." Choi was at 12-under 204. There were plenty of mistakes early -- Miyazato giving up her 36-hole lead with a double bogey on No. 2, Choi three-putting on No. 3, Brittany Lincicome missing a 3-foot par putt and then hitting a fat chip that rolled back to her feet for another bogey. Karrie Webb made her mistake later, but it was costly, and it included so many drops around the green that its a wonder she didnt run out of tees. The Australian star pulled her approach on the 18th to the left, and the ball bounced down a walkway and under a table. She had to stick four tees in the ground to get relief twice, from a picket fence and the corner of a grandstand. Her chip went through the green and next to the grandstand, leading to another free drop. Her next chip came out heavy and rolled back against the grandstand, and a third drop. Webb had to hole a 15-foot putt for double bogey, dropped her back to a 71, five shots behind. Lincicome overcame her consecutive bogeys for a 70 and was at 9-under 207 with Karine Icher, who also had a 70. Stacy Lewis, the LPGA player of the year, wont be winning the money title. The 27-year-old American has to win the Titleholders and its $500,000 prize to have any chance of catching Inbee Park, but Lewis had a second straight 72 and was 10 shots out of the lead at 214. Park was at 4-under 212 and likely sewed up the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average. Lewis would have to beat Park by at least seven shots in the final round to pass her for the season scoring average. The only theatre left is at the top of the leaderboard, with two good friends -- Choi and Ryu -- in the final group, both wanting to pass the time and calm the nerves with conversation about anything but golf. They will be alongside Miyazato, who spent Saturday bantering with her caddie. Miyazatos lead was gone early when her third shot to the par-5 second when over the green down a steep slope. Her first chip came back to her feet, and she failed to get up-and-down, giving her a double bogey. Choi made birdie on the hole and suddenly had a two-shot lead. On the par-4 third, Miyazato again went over the green and faced a tough chip up a steep slope. She said her caddie "made a mistake" and she let him know it. But the Japanese star hit a delicate bump-and-run up the hill to 5 feet for par, and when her tee shot on the par-4 third settled 5 feet away, the caddie said, "Welcome back." Miyazato looked at him and said, "Welcome back, me?" And the caddie replied, "No, me," to suggest he was in good graces again. She said they shared fun conversations the rest of the round, which was key for Miyazato. This is the last event of the year, and Miyazato says that has allowed her to play more freely because she wont have any serious golf for the next few months. It wont be just the three players in the final group going after the title, not with Lincicome only three shots behind and with enough length to reach at least three of the par 5s. "I have a lot of good players chasing me," Choi said. Suzann Pettersen had a 72 and was in the group at 7-under 209, along with Webb and Brittany Lang, another long hitter who had a 69. At stake for Choi is a chance to win for the second time this year and collect a big check, which could come in handy. Before returning home, she will be shopping for a new house in Orlando on Monday, most likely in the Isleworth neighbourhood. What she picks might depend on the size of her check Sunday. "I need a good result," she said with a laugh. Lewis, Lincicome, Park and Angela Stanford already cashed in to some degree on Saturday. They were selected to receive "performance" awards -- distance off the tee for Lincicome, a "drive to the top" for Lewis, compelling play by Park and community service by Stanford. Each was given a Kia Optima. holdjersey . The blowout didnt last, but their winning streak did. Durant had 32 points and just missed what could have been the dunk of his career, Russell Westbrook added 25 points and nine assists, and the Thunder held off the Brooklyn Nets 117-111 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory. nba holdjersey .Lazare, Que., rebounded from a shaky preliminary round to advance to the mens three-metre final at a FINA Grand Prix diving meet Friday. http://www.holdjersey.com/ . Wang had his worst outing of the season Tuesday night, lasting just 3 1-3 innings and giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks in a 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. His record fell to 2-3 and his ERA rose to 6. nfl holdjersey . Prust had a telephone hearing, his first in five NHL seasons, with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan on Sunday to discuss the elbow he landed to the back of Volchenkovs helmet early in the second period of the Rangers 3-0 win on Saturday. cheap jerseys . PAUL, Minn.NEW YORK -- Jonathon Niese had retired 15 straight batters as Sundays game reached the seventh inning, and anticipation at Citi Field was building. Could this be the first no-hitter in the New York Mets 51-season history? Then Dan Uggla worked out a 10-pitch walk, and Atlantas Freddie Freeman singled cleanly to right on the next pitch. The Mets wait reached 7,191 games and counting. No matter, Niese was smiling when it was over. New York completed a season-opening sweep with a 7-5 victory over the Braves. For the first time in 27 years, and only the third time ever, the Mets are 3-0 while the Yankees are 0-3. "Were going to surprise some people this year," Niese said. New York is 3-0 for the first time since opening with four wins in 2007. The Mets have a .320 batting average and a 1.67 ERA. "Were excited -- 3-0, man. You cant draw it up any better than that," Daniel Murphy said. Atlanta, hoping to rebound from Septembers 9-18 collapse, is 0-3 for the second time since losing its first 10 games in 1988. The Braves are hitting .151 with seven runs and 14 hits. "Its never good to come into the season and get swept," Brian McCann said. "Nobody in here is thinking about last year." Same with the Mets, coming off their third straight losing season and overshadowed in New York by the glamorous Yankees. Pitching for the first time since the Mets gave him a $25.5 million, five-year deal, Niese (1-0) allowed just two balls out of the infield through six innings. Freeman singled on his 99th pitch, a fastball that was up. Mets manager Terry Collins doubted Niese would have pitched the ninth, even if the no-hitter was within reach. Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen had decided on a 115-pitch limit, and the manager recalled how he took out Sid Fernandez from a Class-A game for Vero Beach in 1982 when the pitcher had a no-hitter and 21 strikeouts through seven innings but had thrown 130 pitches. "You dont sacrifice his health for an inning," Collins said. Niese, overpowering Atlanta with a 93 mph fastball, had been thinking about a no-hitter since "I guess the first inning." He was pretty sure the pitch count wouldnt have prevented him from going for it. "Id have ran back out. It would have been hard to take me out," he said in front of his locker, where an unknown prankster taped up a paper that read "Niese-ter bunny" with a photo-shopped picture of the pitcher in a white rabbit suit, holding a large carrot. He allowed four runs -- two earned -- and two hiits in six-plus innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.dddddddddddd It also was his first outing since a $10,000 off-season nose job -- paid for by former teammate Carlos Beltran -- to correct a deviated septum. Nieses 2011 season was cut short Aug. 23 when he strained an intercostal muscle. Niese lasted just two more batters after Freeman. Right fielder Lucas Duda, looking into a sunny, cloudless sky, dropped Matt Diazs fly ball for a run-scoring error that made it 7-1, and Jason Heyward chased Niese with a two-run double. Pinch-hitter Jack Wilson added a sacrifice fly off Manny Acosta. New Yorks Ruben Tejada had a career-best four hits, and Frank Francisco became the first Mets reliever with saves in his first three games. "This means everything," Collins said. "Weve done a lot of talking in spring training about getting ready to compete, getting ready to prepare to compete. I told those guys in our first meeting: Youre professional baseball players, and there are expectations in this town and in this clubhouse." Mike Minor (0-1), who impressed the Braves by throwing 14 consecutive scoreless innings in his first four spring training starts, gave up six runs, six hits and four walks in five-plus innings. Before a crowd of 27,855 on Easter Sunday, more than 14,000 short of capacity, sacrifice flies by David Wright in the first and Duda in the fourth built a lead. Murphy hit a two-run double in the fifth, and the Mets made it 7-0 in the sixth on Scott Hairstons RBI double against Cristhian Martinez and Tejadas two-run double. McCann, who had been 0 for 10 in the series, homered in the eighth over the newly pulled-in fence in right, a ball that likely would have been a flyout in previous seasons at Citi Field. "Were fine," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Four or five of those hits together, and well be fine." NOTES: San Diego (6,846) is the only other big league team without a no-hitter. ... Niese pitched a one-hitter against San Diego on June 10, 2010, allowing Chris Denorfias leadoff double in the third. ... The Mets also opened 3-0 while the Yankees went 0-3 in 1973, according to STATS. ... Wright has 728 RBIs, five short of Darryl Strawberrys club record. ... The highlight of the Mets three-game series against Washington figures to be Wednesdays finale, with Johan Santana pitching against Stephen Strasburg. New York is selling $2.50 tickets for that game, to be played on the 50th anniversary of the Mets debut. ' ' '