Friday, February 20, 1998
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Wendy Ward, right, is congratulated by Pat Hurst
after the first round of the Hawaiian Ladies Open
at Kapolei yesterday.
She fires an opening-round 65
By Bill Kwon
in Cup Noodles Hawaiian
Ladies Open
Star-BulletinThere's never a dull moment with Wendy Ward on the LPGA Tour. Last year, the three-time All-American from Arizona State set an LPGA Tour record of 23-under in winning her first LPGA event.
Last month in the Office Depot event in West Palm Beach, Fla., she saw a four-stroke lead in the first round reduced by two after taking a ride on an unauthorized golf cart.
Ward shot a 7-under-par 65 yesterday for the first-round lead in the Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open at the Kapolei Golf Course. And again, it was hardly uneventful.
The 65 tied the tournament record held by Natsuko Noro last year, and Dottie Pepper and Lisa Walters when the HLO was held at Ko Olina.
A lucky bounce made it all possible.
Ward leads Dana Dormann by one stroke, thanks to an improbable birdie at the par-4 ninth hole.
After nearly pulling her drive into the water, Ward's next shot bounced off the rocks at a waterfall guarding the green, kicking back unto the fairway 45 yards from the green.
Her caddy, Tex Gallups, tried to calm her down.
"Let's be patient. We can get it up and down,'' he said.
Instead, Ward holed the shot for a birdie.
''It was a couple of strokes less than what he was expecting,'' said Ward, who's still called ''rookie'' by her peers.
''That was definitely a good break. It kind of gave me the momentum going into the turn.''
Ward birdied Nos. 10 and 11, gave a shot back at the par-5 14th, but birdied the last three holes for the lead.
''I took a peek at the board at 17 and saw that Dana got to 6 (under). That gave me incentive to get two more,'' Ward said.
She did, chipping to tap-in distance at 17 to tie Dormann and gaining the lead after a three-foot birdie putt on 18.
Dormann turned a routine round into something special after suddenly remembering a putting technique. It helped her birdie four of the last six holes for a 31 on the back nine.
''I'm usually a strong putter. But I had been putting miserably in my last couple of tournaments. Then I remembered one of my putting keys.''
After which she made a 12-foot putt and a pair of 15-footers for birdies. A tap-in birdie at 17 put her alone in second place.
Dormann likes her position -- and just being here.
''I'm living in Northern California now and I've been in the rain. I'm just so happy to be in Hawaii right now,'' she said.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Hiromi Kobayashi, right, and her caddy worry over a ball
that overshot the green and landed behind an obstruction.
Kobayashi finished at 4-under for the day.
Brandie Burton was third at 67, and nine players were bunched at 68, including Hall of Famer Patty Sheehan, Cindy Rarick and Dale Eggeling, last week's winner at Los Angeles.Defending champion Annika Sorenstam shot a bogey-free 69.
''I did have a lot of chances. If this is my hardest round, I'll be all right,'' said Sorenstam, who set an LPGA single-season money record last year.
Burton, who eagled the par-5 seventh by holing a chip from 10 yards, birdied the 17th and 18th to go 5-under, the best score in the morning round.
''We're lucky we had no wind this morning,'' Burton said. ''It's kind of weird playing this golf course with no wind. (But) the greens are awesome.''
And tricky, too, according to Rarick, who's looking for her first LPGA victory since 1991.
''The short putts here are not easy," Rarick said.
She had a two-footer for par at the par-4 18th, "And that thing tried to break.''
Rarick, whose first LPGA victory came in the 1987 Hawaiian Ladies Open at Turtle Bay, said coming back to Hawaii seems to add a little zest to her game.
''There's something special about Hawaii. I always look forward to coming back here,'' said Rarick, who played for the University of Hawaii in 1978-80. ''I always feel that subconsciously, I got some kind of an advantage playing here.''
Rarick birdied the first two holes, stumbled midway through her round, and regrouped with birdies at Nos. 13-15. She also birdied No. 17 to play the par-5s at 4-under.
Jenn Kangas and Kristi Albers played together in shooting their 68s.
A rookie who gained exempt status in LPGA Tour Qualifying School, Kangas' 4-under is the best round of her young LPGA career. She bogeyed her first hole -- the par-4 10th with a three-putt -- but after the turn, played the easier front side in 4-under 32.
''I looked up and saw my name on the leaderboard. I've never seen my name on the leaderboard before,'' said Kangas, who after the round had trouble remembering her birdies.
''I trained myself not to think about my score, so I guess it worked today."
It was Albers' best round in three tournaments this year, and definitely an improvement at Kapolei, where she missed the cut two years ago.
''I don't want to remember what I shot and don't you look it up,'' said Albers, whose only LPGA victory came in the 1993 Sprint Classic.
The low 70 scores and ties after today's second round will survive the cut.
LEONARD LEADS: At Tucson, Ariz., Justin Leonard birdied nine holes in the first round of the Tucson Chrysler Classic yesterday, finishing with a 7-under-par 65 for a one-shot lead over Tom Lehman and David Duval.
Ward has it
Year on tour: Third
At Kapolei Golf Course Hawaiian Ladies Open
Wendy Ward, 33-32--65
Dana Dormann, 35-31--66
Brandie Burton, 32-35--67
Patty Sheehan, 36-32--68
Amy Read, 33-35--68
Cindy Rarick, 35-33--68
Hiromi Kobayashi, 35-33--68
Chris Johnson, 33-35--68
Dale Eggeling, 35-33--68
Laura Davies, 35-33--68
Kristi Albers, 34-34--68
Jenn Kangas, 32-36--68
Missie McGeorge, 35-34--69
Meg Mallon, 35-34--69
Jane Geddes, 34-35--69
Tina Barrett, 33-36--69
Robin Walton, 34-35--69
Jean Zedlitz, 35-34--69
Annika Sorenstam, 35-34--69
Rachel Hetherington, 34-35--69
Tracy Hanson, 35-34--69
Lisa Hackney, 36-33--69
Jackie Gallagher-Smith, 33-36--69
Cindy Schreyer, 37-33--70
Penny Hammel, 34-36--70
Michelle Dobek, 34-36--70
Amy Benz, 37-33--70
Karen Weiss, 37-33--70
Michele Redman, 34-36--70
Kristal Parker, 35-35--70
Catrin Nilsmark, 38-32--70
Ok-Hee Ku, 36-34--70
Carin Koch, 35-35--70
Emilee Klein, 37-33--70
Cristie Kerr, 31-39--70
Maria Hjorth, 35-35--70
Helen Dobson, 37-33--70
Stefania Croce, 36-34--70
Diane Barnard, 34-36--70
Aki Takamura, 36-34--70
Mhairi McKay, 35-35--70
Susie Redman, 37-34--71
Nancy Ramsbottom, 35-36--71
Nancy Harvey, 36-35--71
Maggie Halpin, 36-35--71
Vicki Fergon, 34-37--71
Dawn Coe-Jones, 35-36--71
Catriona Matthew, 37-34--71
Pat Hurst, 35-36--71
Mayumi Hirase, 38-33--71
Susan Ginter, 34-37--71
Wendy Doolan, 36-35--71
Eva Dahllof, 33-38--71
Caroline Blaylock, 36-35--71
Barb Whitehead, 37-35--72
Kris Tschetter, 38-34--72
Sherri Steinhauer, 35-37--72
Nancy Scranton, 37-35--72
Anne Marie Palli, 35-37--72
Liselotte Neumann, 37-35--72
Caroline McMillan, 35-37--72
Laurel Kean, 33-39--72
Gail Graham, 38-34--72
Ellie Gibson, 36-36--72
Donna Andrews, 35-37--72
Fumiko Muraguchi, 37-35--72
Joanne Morley, 35-37--72
Smriti Mehra, 36-36--72
Pamela Kometani, 34-38--72
Kate Golden, 37-35--72
Luciana Bemvenuti, 35-37--72
Lisa Walters, 37-36--73
Val Skinner, 36-37--73
Patti Rizzo, 36-37--73
Dottie Pepper, 40-33--73
Martha Nause, 37-36--73
Michelle McGann, 37-36--73
Stephanie Lowe, 37-36--73
Elaine Crosby, 38-35--73
Missie Berteotti, 38-35--73
Jody Anschutz, 35-38--73
Shani Waugh, 37-36--73
Kelly Robbins, 34-39--73
Natsuko Noro, 36-37--73
Woo-Soon Ko, 36-37--73
Yoko Inoue, 36-37--73
Kaori Higo, 34-39--73
Lorie Kane, 37-36--73
Amy Fruhwirth, 34-39--73
Natascha Fink, 37-36--73
Lora Fairclough, 37-36--73
Laurie Brower, 37-36--73
Anna Acker-Macosko, 38-35--73
Aiko Takasu, 39-34--73
Melissa McNamara, 37-37--74
Jenny Lidback, 39-35--74
Betsy King, 37-37--74
Cathy Johnston-Forbes, 35-39--74
Trish Johnson, 38-36--74
Janice Gibson, 37-37--74
Michelle Estill, 37-37--74
Mary Beth Zimmerman, 38-36--74
Patty Schremmer, 38-36--74
Vickie Odegard, 36-38--74
Marianne Morris, 35-39--74
Cathy Mockett, 38-36--74
Marnie McGuire, 38-36--74
Mardi Lunn, 37-37--74
Jenny Lee, 36-38--74
Kristi Coats, 36-38--74
Takayo Bando, 36-38--74
Nadine Ash, 36-38--74
Akemi Yamaoka, 37-37--74
Sherri Turner, 38-37--75
Joan Pitcock, 36-39--75
Mitzi Edge, 36-39--75
Suzanne Strudwick, 38-37--75
Leslie Spalding, 37-38--75
Charlotta Sorenstam, 36-39--75
Se Ri Pak, 37-38--75
Kathryn Marshall, 35-40--75
Leta Lindley, 37-38--75
Lisa Kiggens, 37-38--75
Jennifer Feldott, 37-38--75
Michelle Wooding, 37-38--75
Jill Briles-Hinton, 41-35--76
Julie Piers, 38-38--76
Janice Moodie, 39-37--76
Heather Daly-Donofrio, 39-37--76
Jean Bartholomew, 39-37--76
Jan Stephenson, 38-39--77
Kris Monaghan, 39-38--77
Allison Finney, 38-39--77
Kelli Kuehne, 40-37--77
Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, 38-39--77
Annette DeLuca, 40-37--77
Tracy Kerdyk, 38-40--78
Patty Jordan, 40-38--78
Kim Saiki, 38-40--78
Toshimi Kimura, 38-40--78
Moira Dunn, 37-41--78
Lenore Rittenhouse, 41-40--81
Katie Peterson, 39-42--81
Kate Hughes, 42-43--85Note: Hollis Stacy withdrew.
