Hot Ochoa, Kerr Give Women’s Open Star Power

Southern Pines, N.C. - For the better part of three days, the U.S. Women’s Open was a bit hard to get a handle on. It has been bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go traffic on Midland Avenue.

Perhaps the most perplexing part of the partial rounds and fractured follies was the leaderboard. Name recognition was reaching dangerously low levels. Anonymity was flourishing. Try as one might, identifying one-round wonders from the ones to watch was like finding sincerity in a Paris Hilton interview.

In short, what had transpired was a failure to separate.

But late on Saturday afternoon, clarity came to the 61st Women’s Open. The game is no longer about finding a serious contender. The game is on.

When play was suspended Saturday at 8:05 p.m. due to darkness, the leaderboard was no longer alphabet soup, it was crystal clear. There was still a surprise hanging around, but no major should be devoid of at least one. But given the odds, 19-year old Ji-Yai Shin’s presence atop the charts made sense. She is, after all, one of 26 Korean-born players who made the 36-hole cut earlier in the day. By comparison, 24 American-born players were in the final field.

Playing in her first U.S. Women’s Open, Shin completed a second-round 69 and added three more birdies to her fragmented third round to grab the in-progress lead at five under par. Every fairy tale needs a Cinderella.

But as Don Corleone might say, "you keep your friends close and keep your enemies even closer." And some of the game’s biggest stars in the game are hot pursuit of Shin.

Cristie Kerr, one of those Americans, threw down five birdies on her third-round card through 13 holes and moved to four under. Lorena Ochoa, the Best Player Yet To Win A Major, birdied four of her 11 third-round holes to get to four under. Brazilian-born Angela Park, by all accounts a rising star on the LPGA Tour, completed a 2-under-par 69 in the morning and was four under through 10 third-round holes. The 19-year-old was one over for the round.

Morgan Pressel, a major-championship winner earlier this year at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, was but one stroke farther back. Julieta Granada, winner of the 2006 ADT Championship, was at two under.

OK, OK. Now, the Women’s Open is looking like a major championship.

"I feel prepared to win a major," said Ochoa, who is the No. 1 player in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings. She is hoping to end a 0-for-22 drought, that includes a devastating miss at the 2005 Women’s Open, when she quadruple-bogeyed the final hole.

"I’ve been working really hard and giving myself chances and tomorrow is going to be a special day," added Ochoa, a three-time winner in 2007. "I don’t want to even think about it, or go too far ahead. I know I have to take it one step at a time and concentrate on what I’m doing.

Ochoa concentrated on slowing down her swing on Saturday, and it worked. Starting her second round from scratch, she birdied the last two holes of her opening nine (Nos.17 and 18) and off she went. She will have birdied seven of her last 22 holes when she tees off on Sunday.

"I made a couple of birdies and got a good momentum," said the 25-year-old Ochoa. "I played really solid my back nine. I was really excited the weather was holding and we were able to play the third round, because I was feeling really good, really positive with my game, making putts for birdies."

The 29-year old Kerr has earned $7 million since joining the LPGA circuit in 1997. She has nine LPGA victories, but also has yet to win a major. She tied for second at The Merit Club in 2000 and shared fourth at Pine Needles the following year.

"I worked with my coach a little bit after the second round," said Kerr. "I hit two bags of ball in the hot weather and went home, took a shower and changed and came back and made a great save on the fifth or sixth hole. I just kind of kept the momentum going."

After playing poorly on the greens most of the season, Kerr was at a tournament in Korea in May and picked up a putter she liked at a local golf shop. She has rolled the ball exceedingly well since, finishing fourth last week at the Wegman’s LPGA.

She covered the first nine of her third round in just 31 strokes, and one-putted 10 of 13 holes before play was stopped. But with more third-round work still to do, Kerr did want to make too much of her position.

"I have played better of late and just working on my swing, really focusing on executing the shot at hand and not so much on the results," said Kerr.

"I mean winning the Open would be great, but I would be happier if I executed all my shots all the way as I wanted to. Because the score is kind of irrelevant if you do the things you are trying to do."

One thing Ochoa hopes to do is get in the final group. The players were going to be re-grouped in threesomes following the completion of round three.

"I would love to do it," said Ochoa, who played 29 holes on Saturday and still had the energy to conduct a press conference afterwards.

"It’s always good to be in the last group. We’ll see. That’s going to be my goal. It’s kind of like too hard to be thinking too far ahead, just kind of making sure I finish well. I have seven holes left in the morning. My goal is to finish strong and get ready for the fourth round."

Ochoa, in top physical condition, admitted to being somewhat of a glutton for punishment at Pine Needles. Despite the fact she played so many holes on Saturday, she was happy to have more than 18 remaining on Sunday.

"I like the idea of playing more than 18 holes; more things can be done," she said. "In that part, I’m happy because I am feeling strong and I’m healthy and that could help my game."

And as she readily acknowledged, if she can stay near the top of the class when the final round begins, she has a name to go with the game.

"It was what I wanted to do - make sure on Sunday I’m close to the lead, if not in the lead," Ochoa said. "I’m really pleased with the way I played today and I know my name is significant. I want to make sure I get a good start tomorrow and hopefully I can put the pressure on other players."

It’s not just lip service anymore. This is the U.S. Women’s Open, a major championship, and it finally looks the part.