CLIFTON, N.J. » Less than six months ago, Brittany Lincicome had a long sit-down with her parents and talked about the possibility of taking a year off from golf.

“;Bam-Bam's”; game had gone bad.

With a little more work and a coaching change, things have turned around. Last month, Lincicome won her first major — the Kraft Nabisco Championship — and this week the 23-year-old from Florida is starting to show the consistency that all good players seem to possess.

Lincicome followed an opening-round 64 with a 3-under 69 yesterday to take a two-shot lead over Suzann Pettersen of Norway and Ji Young Oh of South Korea at the LPGA Sybase Classic.

“;I really had no expectations today, just to keep it under par,”; Lincicome said. “;I was hitting it good yesterday, when I went to the range this morning, I felt like I was hitting it really well. I hit 17 greens today, which is pretty phenomenal.”;

The only one that Lincicome missed in a bogey-free round was at the par-4 16th.

“;I've never had two full rounds, 36 holes, without making a bogey before, and I think that was the only thing on my mind on the back nine,”; Lincicome said. “;I looked at my caddie at one point and I just said, 'Can we just 3-putt one hole just to get it out of the way and I can be done with it and move forward?”;'

Michelle Wie, looking for her first professional win, Hall of Famer Karrie Webb and Paula Creamer were among a group at 5 under.

Three-time defending champion Lorena Ochoa had another 71 and was in danger of seeing her hold on this event end.

Lincicome was fortunate the 19-year-old Wie isn't closer.

She was almost perfect from tee to green, but she missed seven putts of 10 feet or less, including three on the last four holes.

“;It's just a little bumpy,”; said Wie, who created some headlines earlier this week by saying she still wants to win a PGA Tour event and play in the Masters. “;I'll work on putting a little more and make some more birdies.”;