ASSOCIATED PRESS Punahou's Michelle Wie has not missed a cut in an LPGA event since 2003.

Wie makes the cut

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. » Michelle Wie may not feel she owes an apology to anyone.

She at least owes thanks to Karen Davies.

At the end of a broiling Friday at Bulle Rock that gave Suzann Pettersen a shot at major redemption and put Annika Sorenstam on the fast track to recovery, the only drama left was whether Wie would be allowed to return to the LPGA Championship.

It came down to the final shot in the final group, when Karen Davies made bogey that allowed Wie and 13 other players to make the cut.

But that was a small consolation.

A much bigger prize looms for those at the top of the leaderboard, starting with Pettersen, the feisty Norwegian who only 10 weeks ago surrendered a four-shot lead on the back nine of the Kraft Nabisco Championship with a bogey-double bogey-bogey stretch that allowed Morgan Pressel to become the LPGA's youngest major champion.

Pettersen was starting to cook under the late morning sun when she sizzled on the golf course, making three birdies over her last four holes for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead over seven-time major champion Karrie Webb.

"I forgot about that a long time ago," Pettersen said of her meltdown in the desert. "I didn't look at it as a collapse. I looked at it as what I can do different, so I do stronger when I get to the next tournament and I'm in the same situation."

Another shot behind Webb was former U.S. Women's Open champion Birdie Kim (71) and big-hitting Brittany Lincicome, who shot 69 and summed up the effect of a searing sun and no cloud cover.

Former Pahoa resident Kimberly Kim shot a 76 to miss the cut by two strokes.

The group at 5-under 139 included Pressel, who overcame a rugged start with five birdies over her last 10 holes for a 71; and Sorenstam, the 10-time major champion who would not have guessed she could get into contention so soon.

Sorenstam missed two months of competition with neck and back injuries, returning last week at her Ginn Tribute to tie for 36th. She remained somewhat of an afterthought until closing with two birdies for a 69.

"I still have some bad shots in me and therefore, I don't want to raise the bar too soon," Sorenstam said. "I'm just happy to have two rounds under par. I might be a little injured physically, but let me tell you, mentally I'm not. I'm probably as strong as ever."