KAPALUA » Had world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa not had an unplayable lie at the par-4 fourth that led to a double bogey, she would be among the leaders at the Kapalua LPGA Classic.

As it stands, she still shot a solid 3-under 69 yesterday and sits comfortably in a tie for 11th, just three shots off the pace and in perfect position to make a run this weekend. Paired with world No. 2 Annika Sorenstam and Kapalua representative Morgan Pressel, Ochoa carded six birdies, one bogey and the double to finish at 1-under 143 at the halfway point of the inaugural event. Several hundred people followed this threesome for most of the day and were treated to some good golf.

“;I did really good,”; Ochoa said. “;I made a double bogey. It was a tough hole (in windy conditions). I had an unplayable, my ball was over in the rocks. One bad hole, but the rest were very solid. I'm very pleased with my round today. I'm in red numbers, in good position for the weekend.”;

Ochoa has won seven times this year, including two majors. Her last victory was on Sept. 28 at the Navistar LPGA Classic. Stretching back to the Evian Masters, Ochoa has finished no worse than a tie for seventh in seven events. She has finished in the top five in six of those tournaments and likes her chances this weekend.

“;I'm glad I'm up there in good position for the weekend,”; Ochoa said. “;I think it's really tough having an early round and then an afternoon round. (Today) it should be the same for everybody. Should be interesting.”;

Playing partners Pressel and Sorenstam didn't fare quite as well over the opening 36 holes. Sorenstam shot a 2-under 70, helped along with an eagle at the par-5 18th, that assured her of making the cut. She is at 3-over 147 and will need a strong finish to play her way into contention.

Pressel opened with back-to-back 72s and is still in it, despite entering today's third round in a tie for 19th.

Sharp ties course mark

Going off early yesterday morning, Alena Sharp made up for a ho-hum 74 in the wind on Thursday with a course-record 67 yesterday in calm conditions to put her right on the spikes of the leaders at 3-under 141.

Sharp managed seven birdies and two bogeys to go from a tie for 60th to a tie for third in her final tournament of 2008.

“;I've been playing well all year,”; Sharp said. “;My scores haven't been showing it. Finally today everything clicked and it's the last tournament of the year, so it's a good time for it to happen.”;

Sharp opened with four birdies on her first seven holes before bogeying the ninth thanks to a bad tee shot in the rough. She got it back with a birdie at the 10th, before closing with a bogey and two birdies.

Inside the numbers

The scoring average dropped a bit to 74.073 from 74.386 on Thursday, with the hardest hole being the par-4 11th. The scoring average on the 408-yard hole was 4.335 There were only six birdies, 69 pars, 50 bogeys, two double bogeys and one triple by Silvia Cavalleri.

The easiest hole was the par-5 15th with two eagles, 71 birdies, 48 pars and seven bogeys. The scoring average was 4.469.