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Friday, February 18, 2000

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Sophie Gustafson says, "It's fun to post a score like this" --
a 7-under 65 yesterday and a share of the lead in the
Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open.

Hawaiian leaders
hitting it off

The co-leaders tie a tourney
record with 65s in the
opening round

By Bill Kwon
Star-Bulletin

Talk about a United Nations leaderboard in the Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open.

Co-leaders Sophie Gustafson and Joanne Morley are from Sweden and England, respectively. They both shot 7-under-par 65s yesterday at the Kapolei Golf Course to tie the tournament record.

In second a stroke back at 66 are Sweden's Annika Sorenstam and Mi Hyun Kim, the 1999 LPGA Rookie of the Year from Korea.

Gustafson's English is limited, so she requests written questions. Kim needs a Korean interpreter.

But golf's a universal language and an eagle -- two strokes under par for a hole -- needs no translation.

Morley eagled her opening hole -- a 533-yard par-5 -- and also the par-5 17th to join Gustafson, whose 65 was the best round in the morning group. Gustafson also eagled the 459-yard 17th.

Still looking for their first tour victory, the co-leaders have to be looking over their shoulders at Sorenstam, an 18-time LPGA winner, and Kim, a 5-foot-1 dynamo who won twice last year and earned $584,246 to finish eighth on the money list.

"It's fun to post a score like this," said Sorenstam, who said her confidence was shaken last year even though she won twice and finished fourth on the money list.

"I was a little disappointed about last year generally. So more rounds I can get under par will help my confidence."

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Annika Sorenstam makes the birdie putt after dropping
her approach shot about 2 ft. from the 10th hole.

Two bogeys -- on her first and last holes of the day -- cost Kim a chance to be the sole leader.

She eagled the par-4 fourth by holing out a wedge from 90 yards to go 6-under, and birdied the seventh hole to momentarily share the lead.

But a three-putt bogey from 13 feet at her final hole, the par-4 ninth, dropped her in a tie with Sorenstam.

For Kris Tschetter, who never missed a tournament in Hawaii since turning pro in 1988, playing Kapolei without wind is almost as rare as a bogey-free round for her. "We don't know what we're doing out there with no wind," said Tschetter, who was in a seven-way-tie for third place at 5-under-par 67.

"It felt easy out there today. I never worried about bogey, which is rare for me, I might add. It's usually birdie, bogey for me."

Her closest brush with bogey came at her opening hole, the par-4 10th, when she missed her only green in regulation. Tschetter went up and down from 40 yards out, sinking a six-foot putt to save par.

"This course is so scoreable," said Kim Saiki, who's also looking for her first tour victory along with Sally Dee and A.J. Eathorne, two others at 67.

Dee and Eathorne credited their length off the tee in shooting their 5-under opening rounds.

"This course sets up well for my game," said Dee, who was a USA Today prep All-American basketball player. "The fairways are wide and I can use my driver a lot. Sometimes, long hitters get handcuffed."

Although Dee was first alternate at last year's HLO, she didn't get to play. "I was disappointed, I wanted to play,'' she said. "But there are worse things than having a week off in Hawaii."

But she got in a practice round, checked the course out and banked her knowledge for the future.

"It's not a bad thing to check out the tournament sites," said Dee, who did it at 15-16 events last year. "That way, now I don't feel like a rookie. If anything, it builds confidence.''

Also in the group are Hall of Famer Betsy King and 1994 HLO winner Marta Figueras-Dotti.

Included in a 12-way logjam at 68 are former winners Barb Thomas Whitehead (1995) and Sherri Turner (1989), while defending champion Alison Nicholas was one of 17 players at 69.

All told, 76 golfers -- more than half the field -- bettered par-72.

Gustafson was a little surprised by her lowest LPGA round, considering she missed the cut in her first two outings in 2000 and also last year's tournament here.

It could have been a 62, according to the 26-year-old Swede, who missed a short par putt at 13 and two birdie putts of less than eight feet.

"I guess I could have gone lower, but I am really happy with a 65," Gustafson said.

"I enjoy the course, although my record's not too good here," said Morley, who missed the cut at Kapolei the last three years.

Hawaii's Lenore Rittenhouse shot a 77 and was in danger of missing the cut of the low 70 scores and ties after today's second round.

The 54-hole tournament - the tour's fourth stop of the year - ends tomorrow with the winner getting $97,500.

Hawaiian Ladies Open

At Kapolei First round
Par 72

Joanne Morley -- 32-33--65
Sophie Gustafson -- 33-32--65
Annika Sorenstam -- 33-33--66
Mi Hyun Kim -- 32-34--66
Kris Tschetter -- 35-32--67
Betsy King -- 32-35--67
Marta Figueras-Dotti -- 33-34--67
Brandie Burton -- 33-34--67
Kim Saiki -- 31-36--67
A.J. Eathorne -- 31-36--67
Sally Dee -- 34-33--67
Barb Whitehead -- 33-35--68
Sherri Turner -- 34-34--68
Gail Graham -- 34-34--68
Aki Nakano -- 34-34--68
Jenny Rosales -- 36-32--68
Julie Piers -- 35-33--68
Kristal Parker -- 34-34--68
Kathryn Marshall -- 35-33--68
Leta Lindley -- 32-36--68
Tracy Hanson -- 34-34--68
Moira Dunn -- 32-36--68
Diana D'Alessio -- 35-33--68
Sherri Steinhauer -- 34-35--69
Nancy Scranton -- 35-34--69
Liselotte Neumann -- 33-36--69
Cathy Johnston-Forbes -- 35-34--69
Jane Geddes -- 34-35--69
Karen Weiss -- 33-36--69
Stephanie Sparks -- 34-35--69
Charlotta Sorenstam -- 34-35--69
Alison Nicholas -- 35-34--69
Leigh Ann Mills -- 30-39--69
Carin Koch -- 36-33--69
Debbie Harmon -- 35-34--69
Susan Ginter -- 34-35--69
Jackie Gallagher-Smith -- 35-34--69
Stefania Croce -- 34-35--69
Kellee Booth -- 34-35--69
Marisa Baena -- 34-35--69
Jan Stephenson -- 34-36--70
Melissa McNamara -- 34-36--70
Michelle McGann -- 36-34--70
Meg Mallon -- 34-36--70
Jenny Lidback -- 34-36--70
Chris Johnson -- 35-35--70
Penny Hammel -- 35-35--70
Dana Dormann -- 32-38--70
Michie Ohba -- 36-34--70
Suzanne Strudwick -- 33-37--70
Grace Park -- 36-34--70
Kyoto Ono -- 35-35--70
Maria Hjorth -- 34-36--70
Heather Bowie -- 35-35--70
Patricia Baxter-Johnson -- 35-35--70
Hollis Stacy -- 33-38--71
Joan Pitcock -- 34-37--71
Hiromi Kobayashi -- 36-35--71
Cindy Flom -- 36-35--71
Tina Barrett -- 35-36--71
Jody Anschutz -- 35-36--71
Amy Read -- 38-33--71
Yuri Fudoh -- 36-35--71
Erika Wicoff -- 35-36--71
Kaori Higo -- 37-34--71
Fiona Pike -- 36-35--71
Laura Philo -- 36-35--71
Michelle Murphy -- 35-36--71
Catriona Matthew -- 35-36--71
Oh-Yeon Kwon -- 35-36--71
Lorie Kane -- 38-33--71
Jeong Jang -- 37-34--71
Becky Iverson -- 37-34--71
Vicki Goetze-Ackerman -- 34-37--71
Lisa DePaulo -- 34-37--71
Eva Dahllof -- 35-36--71
Pearl Sinn -- 36-36--72
Deb Richard -- 35-37--72
Rosie Jones -- 36-36--72
Dale Eggeling -- 34-38--72
Stephanie Brecht -- 36-36--72
Riko Higashio -- 38-34--72
Carri Wood -- 35-37--72
Leslie Spalding -- 35-37--72
Jill McGill -- 36-36--72
Yu Ping Lin -- 36-36--72
Debbi Koyama -- 34-38--72
Cristie Kerr -- 35-37--72
Jen Hanna -- 37-35--72
Akiko Fukushima -- 35-37--72
Amy Fruhwirth -- 36-36--72
Jennifer Feldott -- 36-36--72
Heather Daly-Donofrio -- 36-36--72
Lori Atsedes -- 36-36--72
Aki Takamura -- 36-36--72
Susie Redman -- 37-36--73
Cindy McCurdy -- 38-35--73
Ellie Gibson -- 35-38--73
Nanci Bowen -- 36-37--73
Hee-Won Han -- 38-35--73
Toshimi Kimura -- 35-38--73
Jean Zedlitz -- 38-35--73
Susan Veasey-Florin -- 37-36--73
Michele Redman -- 35-38--73
Emilee Klein -- 35-38--73
Denise Killeen -- 37-36--73
Lisa Kiggens -- 35-38--73
Harumi Sakagami -- 36-37--73
Kate Golden -- 38-35--73
Liz Earley -- 37-36--73
Ashli Bunch -- 39-34--73
Michelle Bell -- 37-36--73
Maggie Will -- 36-38--74
Nancy Harvey -- 39-35--74
Amy Benz -- 37-37--74
Sara Sanders -- 37-37--74
GloriaPark -- 38-36--74
Janice Moodie -- 40-34--74
Caroline Blaylock -- 35-39--74
Jean Bartholomew -- 37-37--74
Midori Yoneyama -- 38-36--74
Jenny S. Park -- 37-37--74
Vicki Fergon -- 35-40--75
Michelle Estill -- 34-41--75
Pat Bradley -- 37-38--75
Kristi Albers -- 40-35--75
LaRee Pearl Sugg -- 36-39--75
Mhairi McKay -- 36-39--75
Lisa Hackney -- 37-38--75
Jane Egan -- 37-38--75
Katie Peterson -- 39-37--76
Caryn Wilson -- 38-38--76
Karen Stupples -- 36-40--76
Marie-Josee Rouleau -- 37-39--76
Pamela Kerrigan -- 38-38--76
Mayumi Hirase -- 37-39--76
Annette DeLuca -- 38-38--76
Audra Burks -- 36-40--76
Lenore Rittenhouse -- 39-38--77
Caroline McMillan -- 36-41--77
Vickie Odegard -- 37-40--77
Dorothy Delasin -- 40-37--77
Lori West -- 37-41--78
Tish Certo -- 37-42--79
Pat Hurst -- DNS