By Ken Klavon and Alex Miceli

Cherry Hills Village, Colo. -- Defending champion Meg Mallon has done little in her 2005 campaign on the LPGA Tour to suggest she would be in better shape through 36 holes than she was at last years Women’s Open at the Orchards. 

Coming into this week Mallon had not finished better than a tie for 20th at the Sybase Classic and had shot only two rounds in the 60s out of 31 rounds, both of those 69. Part of the reason for her sluggish start is because of damage her Florida home absorbed from a hurricane.

Annika Sorenstam, who shot 4-over 75 Friday, played out of the rough more than she liked. She struck only eight fairways. (Sam Greenwood/USGA)

Mallon started her defense in style, shooting an even-par 71 and was quickly part of the equation, but a 3-over 74 pushed her back into a tie for ninth and five shots in back leader Nicole Perrot.

"I hate three-putting and I just ended on a three-putt and I have a sour taste in my mouth," said Mallon. "Maybe that will be a motivation for the weekend; hopefully it will be."

Last year Mallon was tied for 40^th after the first round and tied for 13^th after the second when she shot a 69. But it was her last two rounds of 67-65 that made the difference in winning her second U.S. Open.

"Overall I played well and I three-putted 18 and three-putted nine," said Mallon. "I just don’t like giving those shots away like that.  I don’t think I got one putt outside of 15 feet to the hole today, so I got to figure out the green speed a little bit better, because I didn’t get the ball to the hole."

Birdies are not rare around Cherry Hills; there have been 614 birdies and six eagles through two rounds. For Mallon to have a chance on the weekend, she likely needs to do better off the tee. Through both rounds she’s struck 19 of 28 fairways. Her 24 greens in regulation are a direct result of her driving, but her 31.5 putts-per-round average are what have held her back to this point.

"There is a fine margin of error. If you hit the fairway you got a shot. That’s why I like the course so much," said Mallon. "If you hit the proper shot it gives you a shot.  If you mis-hit it and hit it in the rough you got to take your lumps and pitch out and try to make par.  You’re not going to make huge numbers, but you can bogey yourself to death on this golf course."

Cut Time

The cut line bobbed most of the day after second-round leader Nicole Perrot bogeyed the par-3 12^th hole and fell to 2 under.  From then on those players at 9-over waited anxiously if Parrott would falter down the difficult stretch, which included the nasty par-4 18^th. But Perrot kept her nerve. When she made a 5-footer for par on the 18^th, 63 players made the cut for the weekend at 8 over.

Those notables that missed the cut included 2003 U.S. Women’s Open champion Hilary Lunke, who shot an opening round 81 but came back with a 1-under 70. She bogeyed two of the last five holes to finish one shot short at 9 over.

"I couldn’t quite hang on at the end, but I’m getting more comfortable with my game," said Lunke. "It’s a lot better than it has been."

Other notables who missed the cut: local favorite Jill McGill; 1995 and 1996 Women’s Amateur champion Kelli Kuehne finished 10 over, while 2003 Nabisco winner Patricia Meunier-Lebouc of France finished 11 over.  The 1998 Nabisco and 1990 Women’s Amateur champion, Pat Hurst, missed the cut too, along with 1975 Women’s Amateur and 1990 Mazda LPGA champion Beth Daniel. Both finished at 12 over.

Finally

It took more than a full round, but someone finally birdied No. 18. Three players in fact. Catherine Cartwright was the first, dropping in a 5-footer to walk away with a three.  Cartwright used a driver and had a 4-iron from 204 yards to the hole.  Her approach shot landed short and fed around to the hole perfectly, she said.

"Really, yeah, I got something going good for me," she said. "Anytime you make birdie on this course you feel you made a little bit extra."

The birdie at the time moved Cartwright to 5 over, but five bogeys on her second nine forced her to miss the cut at 10 over.

Karen Stupples birdied it too when she sunk a 28-footer.

Jeong Jang was the last to make a birdie on the 18^th.  After a driver and 9-wood, Jang had an 8-footer that she made.

"We never think about birdieing that hole; we just wanted to make par because it’s pretty tough," said Jang.  "It almost plays like par five.  We just were thinking about par, but got lucky and made birdie."

Sarah Huarte walked on the 18^th green not knowing much about the cut line. In fact, it was the furthest thing from her mind. She stepped over her 20-foot putt and promptly sank it, bringing scores of cheers from the gallery. Huarte, on the 2004 USA Curtis Cup team, finished at 8-over 150 in her first U.S. Women’s Open. It also bumped her off the bubble and into the weekend.

"I didn’t even think that," when asked whether she had been thinking about making the cut. "It’s my first U.S. Open, so there’s not a lot of pressure."

Delayed

What’s a 15-year-old to do during a couple of weather delays? She talks to someone close to her age. That’s what Michelle Wie did Thursday when play had been suspended twice. Seems the standard bearer in her group was roughly the same age.

"We made a club actually," said Wie. "We called it ‘Club Delay.’"

And what would this club talk about?

"Everything, ranging from school to movies," she added.

Better Days Ahead

Amateur Tina Miller’s second Open won’t be one to remember. She shot a 35-over 177. She also missed the cut at last year’s Open, with a pair of 81s.

In her 20^th Open Laura Davies registered an 84-81, her two worst scores in the championship.

In The Bag

Michelle Wie, the 15-year-old amateur, fired a 2-over 73 on Friday during the second round of the Women’s Open.

Wie woke up at 4:15 a.m. to make it to the course to finish her delayed first round from Thursday. Picking up on the 16^th hole, she carded a par before birdieing the 17^th. She entered the second round tied for the lead at 2 under par.

An errant tee shot on the 10th hole forced Wie to punch out just short of the green. When couldn’t get up and down, she quickly fell out of the lead with bogey. Impressive par saves on holes 15, 16, and 18 helped her make the turn with a 37 and stay within one shot of the lead.

A bogey on her next-to-last hole pushed her score to 1 over. But on No. 9, Wie stuck her approach to 3 feet of the flagstick, finishing the second round at 2 over and even for the championship.

Wie seemed to play a bit more passive during the second round, only choosing to use driver off two tees during the round.

"If I just hit to the middle of the fairway, then I have a good chance," said Wie. "I am pretty good with my wedges and short irons so if I just lay-up to those distances, I think I have a great chance.

"It was a little tougher out there, the second round today. But I still felt like I hit very good shots into the greens."

Mike Ewald contributed.