Four Share Lead, But Course Not Giving Up Much

By Ken Klavon, USGA

Newport, R.I. – If Annika Sorenstam is to break out of a perceived slump, on Friday she made a declaration at Newport Country Club amid brutal conditions that she is to be contended with in the Women’s Open.

Annika Sorenstam uses a sand wedge to knock the ball within 8 feet on the 16th hole Friday, a hole that she birdied. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)

Sorenstam, holder of nine majors that includes two titles in this championship, created a logjam atop the leader board. She shot a hard-earned 2-under-par 69 in the afternoon to share a four-way lead with Pat Hurst, Se Ri Pak and Jane Park, all of whom played under a tranquil setting in the morning. Five players – amateur Amanda Blumenherst, Becky Morgan, Gloria Park, Michelle Wie and Sung Ah Yim – were one shot off the pace with 1-under 70s.

Wie walked away with a solid round with 15 pars. She made one of her two birdies on the 18^th green, about 12 feet long, using her own read.

For whatever reason, no player could hand their card to the official scorer with a 3 under upon completion. At one point in their rounds, Hurst, Yim and Veronica Zorzi all got to 3 under.

"It doesn’t seem very hard," said Wie. "People might think, ‘Oh, the greens are soft, so it must be playing easier.’ There’s so many different playing conditions, it wasn’t that easy."

Said Sorenstam: "You just come here for the biggest challenge that we have throughout the year. You really have got to drive the ball well, got to use your long irons well, and you’ve got to putt well and have a good short game."

Disrupting weather has been such a cliché throughout the week that it has overshadowed the national championship to some extent. But there’s no denying that that 6,497-yard layout, shortened Friday morning after overnight rain showers, has exacted a sameness to being smacked in the nose.

The first round had been delayed until Friday because of quirky weather in the area. Lingering fog destroyed any hope of playing Thursday. Now the championship will come down to 36 holes on Sunday.

"This is a tough course to play 18," said Sorenstam. "Then you put another 18 on top of that, you have to be in great shape."

Still, it was refreshing to be able to get going even though conditions continued to stress officials in getting the course prepared. Difficulties of a saturated course were evident. Pockets of fairways had puddles and muddy areas. Some bunkers were pooled. Countless players took relief from casual water. Park said she ran into two instances of plugged balls, both on the low-lying par-4 ninth hole, and took relief from casual water "four or five times."

That was in the morning. In the afternoon the wind started howling and the course stayed moist. Especially on the low-lying ninth -- the hardest statistically at the venue -- which surrendered Sorenstam’s 12-foot birdie, the only one of the day.

Se Ri Pak misses a birdie putt on the ninth hole Friday, the hardest hole statistically after the first round. She played the par 4s to the tune of 2 under par. (John Mummert/USGA)

Sorenstam parred her next six holes before dropping in a birdie from 8 feet on No. 16, one of seven holes not revised Friday by the USGA in its setup. But she thought her key to the round was finding the fairway (12 times), something she hasn’t done consistently this year. She entered this week tied for 79^th in driving accuracy on the LPGA Tour. It was made more impressive because she did it through a swirling wind.

"The course is still wet and then you have the wind, and you think the downwind is going to help you," said Sorenstam. "But the wind was pushing the ball down."

Before she awoke at 4:30 a.m., Park heard the rumbling of thunder and rain showers.

"I thought the course was going to be pretty much unplayable," said Park, the 2004 U.S. Amateur champion.

For her, though, the whole goal was to have fun since her last professional event had been last year’s Women’s Open at Cherry Hills, where she missed the cut. At 19 she’s competing in her fourth Open. She’s bidding to become the second amateur, behind Catherine Lacoste in 1967, to ever win the event.

The key to her steady round lied in missing just one of 14 fairways on No. 8, which led to her only bogey. Park birdied the 298-yard, par-4 second by draining a 20-footer and then followed suit on No. 7, another par 4, by guiding in a 15-footer. She could have gone lower but left a downhill 10-footer, which she called "scary," on 18 a couple inches short.

Pak is trying to win a second consecutive major this year, the LPGA McDonald’s Championship, and sixth overall. She won the 1998 Women’s Open. Starting on the back nine, her 2 under was carved out of desire and guile. It could be argued those traits weren’t there the last two years. Painful neck, shoulder, back and finger injuries shut her game down after the Weetabix British Open, limiting her to just 12 events.

In last year’s Women’s Open she remained within striking distance, tied for ninth through 36 holes before an 81 in the third round caused her to slip to 45^th overall.

"I’m always back," said Pak after her round when someone referenced her long absence from leader boards. "I’ll always be here if anyone forgets about me. Actually, I feel great to be back. At the same time, my game is back, too.

"I think [it was] too much pressure to be on top, to be the best."

After getting as low as 3 under with two holes to play, Hurst, a two-time USGA champion slid in a 15-footer on the elevated ninth green to save par and her round.

In her 15^th Open, the best finish she’s posted has been a T4 in 1998. She hasn’t made the cut three of the past four years. A victory would be her second career major among five victories.

"Definitely, it’s one of my goals, one of my dreams to win a major," she said. "When you’re out here, you just can’t put too much pressure on myself. Oh, my gosh, it’s my biggest dream to win this tournament."

The top three from last year’s Women’s Open left Newport in a whimper. Defending champ Birdie Kim shot 8 over. Brittany Lang and Morgan Pressel, who shared runner-up honors, both carded 5-over 76. Pressel had been 2 under through her first eight holes until a double bogey on No. 9 sent her spiraling. She three-putted from 7 feet, missing a 2-footer, before bogeying five of her final nine holes.

"It was carelessness missing a 2-footer," said Pressel. "It seemed like I hit a bump on every green."

Ken Klavon is the USGA Web Editor. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.