[ GOLF ]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Michelle Wie's birdie putt rolled just shy of the 17th hole yesterday at the Safeway International. Wie parred the hole.
Wie jumps to
13th placeA 5-under 67 puts her seven shots
behind leader Annika Sorenstam
SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, Ariz. >> Annika Sorenstam is in the lead in her first LPGA Tour start of the year, already exhibiting the skills that have made her the best female golfer in the world.
And 14-year-old Michelle Wie's 5-under 67 yesterday showed why so many believe she is the heir apparent.
Second-round results
a-amateur; par: 72
A.Sorenstam 67-65 -- 132 Cristie Kerr 70-63 -- 133 Se Ri Pak 67-68 -- 135 Shi Hyun Ahn 69-67 -- 136 Lorena Ochoa 69-67 -- 136 D.Andrews 67-69 -- 136 Grace Park 72-65 -- 137 Laura Davies 71-66 -- 137 K.Stupples 71-66 -- 137 Heather Bowie 70-67 -- 137 Kim Saiki 64-73 -- 137 Lorie Kane 68-70 -- 138 a-Michelle Wie 72-67 -- 139 Sorenstam shot a methodical 7-under 65 in the second round to take a one-stroke lead halfway through the Safeway International.
She was at 12-under 132, just ahead of Cristie Kerr, who matched her career best with a 9-under 63.
"It could have been lower," Kerr said. "I had a couple of putts slip out."
The buzz through the big galleries surrounded Wie, the 6-foot teen sensation who was seven back at 5-under 139.
Wie had eight birdies and three bogeys in the 90-plus degree sunshine of the Superstition Mountain Golf club 50 miles east of downtown Phoenix.
"I don't think I hit my shots as good as I did yesterday," Wie said, "but my putting definitely was a lot better. Those bogeys I made were pretty stupid. I felt really bad about those, but I made a lot of birdies."
She reeled off four consecutive birdies on holes six through nine and reached 6-under through 14 holes, but had bogeys on the par-4, 310-yard 15th and par-4, 412-yard 16th.
Throughout the day, Wie, who called this a "bomber's course," consistently outdrove her playing partners. Her length off the tee allowed her to go for the green on her second shots on each of the four par 5s.
"I was happy with the way I hit the ball," Wie said. "My second shots were really good."
On the 552-yard 13th hole, the most difficult on the course, Wie crushed a 320-yard drive that drew gasps from the crowd. Her drive was 100 yards beyond her closest playing partner. On her second shot, she knocked a 5-wood 12 feet from the cup. She nearly sank to her knees after she missed the eagle putt and had to settle for a birdie.
The string of birdies only served to increase the pressure as she neared the top of the leaderboard, she said.
"That's the mistake I made today, because I think I should have put less pressure on myself to make more birdies," she said. "I was kind of nervous thinking about the lead."
Wie drew the largest galleries again in the field of 144. She had a traveling gallery of at least 500 and drew as many as 5,000 on the tees to catch glimpses of her booming drives.
In front of a big gallery on the 508-yard 18th, she made the green in two, then almost sank a 30-foot eagle putt before tapping in to finish her round. She obviously was at ease.
"I've played in 11 (LPGA) tournaments so far," Wie said, "so I'm not really a rookie anymore. I feel comfortable out here."
This is the first of the six LPGA events Wie plans to enter this season. She made the cut in six of seven LPGA events last year and came just one shot shy of making the cut in the PGA Tour's Sony Open in January.
It's the first time Wie's father B.J. hasn't been her caddie in an LPGA event.
"It's actually kind of nice," Wie said with her dad laughing in the back of the room. "There's a lot less arguing."
Defending champion Se Ri Pak (68) was three back at 9-under 135. First-round leader Kim Saiki shot a 73 to drop five shots back at 7-under 137.
"I'm playing really good," said Sorenstam, the ANZ Masters winner three weeks ago in Australia in her only other tournament of the year.
"I'm playing smart and giving myself good opportunities. If I hit a good drive I'm playing aggressive. If I hit it poorly off the tee I play it conservatively. And the greens are so smooth. Once I see the line and hit it right there, it seems like they go in."
The par-72, 6,620-yard Prospector Course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, is longer than any layout on last season's LPGA schedule. The tournament moved to the course at the foot of the Superstition Mountains this year under a three-year contract. It had been played at the Moon Valley Golf Club course in north Phoenix.
Kerr's round of nine birdies and no bogeys was the best so far at the new venue, site of the 2001 Tradition on the Champions' tour. She said she was ready to go head-to-head with Sorenstam.
"I've played a lot with Annika, especially in final rounds, and she doesn't make a whole lot of mistakes," Kerr said. "I'm very comfortable playing with her, and I respect her very much. She's an unbelievable player, probably the best we'll see in the next 50 years, and I aspire to be like her."
Those who watched Wie's graceful powerhouse swing and equally impressive short game might argue about that 50-year remark. So would the youngsters who lined up for her autographs when she'd finished her round.
"I don't really see myself as a role model," Wie said. "I think it's kind of strange that people want my autograph. I don't know, it's kind of strange, but it's cool, nice."
The New York Times and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
