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| A 35-footer for birdie on the 18th hole was enough to bring Paula Creamer to her knees Friday. She said afterward that she had worked on a similar putt "six or seven times" during practice rounds. (John Mummert/USGA) |
By David Shefter, USGA
Bethlehem, Pa. – Before the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open at Saucon Valley Country Club commenced, one parent of a competitor predicted the winning score would be over par.
That premonition was looking strong midway through Friday’s second round when even par was leading, and, who knows, it could be the case by Sunday afternoon.
But with Cristie Kerr backing up a first-round 69 with a 1-under 70 (139), and Paula Creamer shooting a 3-under 68, it just might take red figures to claim the 64th edition of this championship.
Kerr, the 2007 Women’s Open champion, will carry a one-shot lead into the weekend over Creamer, at 140, with 24-year-old Georgian Jean Reynolds, who backed up her first-round 69 with a solid 72, another stroke back at 141.
They were the only three competitors under par.
“I feel very comfortable,” said the 31-year-old Kerr, who will play with Creamer in the final pairing on Saturday. “Nobody’s immune to getting pumped up and having adrenaline, obviously, but I feel very comfortable with my mindset and my game plan.”
Sitting at even-par 142 was first-round leader Na Yeon Choi, who shot a 74, and Italian Giulas Sergas. Sergas posted a championship-low 67, moving from a tie for 50th to a share of fourth. Last year at Interlachen Country Club, Sergas tied for sixth, but she has not finished higher than T-22 in 12 LPGA events in 2009.
“How can I be disappointed?” said Sergas, who bogeyed her final hole. “Today, I just putted [well]. My putts were going in.”
Koreans Eun Hee Ji (72) and Song Hee Kim (69) shared sixth at 143.
With the Lehigh Valley experiencing a second consecutive day of near-perfect conditions – bright sunshine, comfortable temperatures and hardly a breeze – the Old Course at Saucon Valley was still winning the battle against world’s best female golfers.
World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa, who started the day tied with Kerr and Reynolds, a stroke behind Choi, spiraled to a 79 (148), her worst effort by six strokes in 41 rounds this season. She was not alone. Morgan Pressel carded a 75 (149), reigning McDonald’s LPGA champion Anna Nordqvist shot 75 (146) and 2007 McDonald’s LPGA winner Yani Tseng missed the cut by five strokes after a 79.
The 36-hole scoring average was 76.355, with 59 rounds at 80 or higher. Nine golfers also withdrew with various ailments, tying the record set in 1972.
“I feel like this course should be a par 73 or 74,” said Choi through a translator. “I feel like all the par 4s and 5s were playing a lot longer than they did yesterday.”
The course played nearly to its full yardage of 6,740. The tee at the par-3 ninth was pushed back to 210 yards, but the USGA did move the markers up a little on the par-5 12th and the par-4 seventh. And the 373-yard third hole, which was the most difficult in round one, was made a little easier with a back-right hole location, making the creek fronting the green less of a factor.
“They really haven’t made the course much shorter … which is great,” said Norway’s Suzann Pettersen after an even-par 71 placed her in a group at 145, tied for 14th. “The greens are what they are. They’re tough. You really want to be on the right side.”
Seven amateurs, including a pair of 14-year-olds, were on the favorable side of the cut, which came at 9-over 151. Reigning U.S. Girls’ Junior champion Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., followed a first-round 71 with a 73 and is tied for eighth at 144. Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif., who is 16 days younger than Thompson, shot a 72 to finish at 5-over 147.
An eight-time winner on the LPGA Tour, the 22-year-old Creamer still is seeking her first major title. She entered the week with a sore left thumb, which had forced her to withdraw from her last two events. Rest and Advil seem to have done the trick because Creamer has played pain-free. Her five-birdie, one-bogey effort included a closing 35-footer for a 3 at the par-4 18th hole.
“It was a good way to finish today,” said Creamer, who played in the final pairing on Sunday last year but shot a closing 78 to share sixth. “I just battled it out the best I could … and tried to keep myself in this thing.”
Kerr had an up-and-down day – at one point she made only one par in an eight-hole stretch – but she remains the only player with two sub-par rounds. On Friday she started at No. 10, and birdied holes 15-17, then bogeyed one and two before making birdies at three and four.
“You have to be focused on every shot and you’ve got to be paying attention on every shot,” said Kerr of her mindset for the weekend. “They're not all going to turn out the way you want, but at the end of the day and the end of the weekend, if you execute every shot the way you want, that's really all you can control, so that's what I'm going to try and do.”
David Shefter is a USGA Digital Media staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.
