A Three-Golfer Race for Ginn Tribute Weekend?

Yes, we may have a three-golfer race for the win in the LPGA's Ginn Tribute this weekend. Lorena Ochoa's bogey-free 67 vaulted her into first place at -9, three shots ahead of the first round leader Angela Park, who could only manage a 72. Paula Creamer's so-so 71 got her to -5 for the tournament, alone in third, because nobody else who broke 70 yesterday did anything that special today.

Pat Hurst's 72 kept her at -4, but she was caught by Angela Stanford, who shot a great 68, and Nicole Castrale, who shot a solid 71. Young Kim's 72 kept her at -3, but she was caught by Karrie Webb and Giulia Sergas. Jeong Jang and Laura Davies (and Lee Ann Walker-Cooper) fell back to -2, Sarah Lee stayed there, and Cristie Kerr, Seon Hwa Lee, and Karin Sjodin caught them. Maria Hjorth fell back to -1, and she was caught by Annika Sorenstam and Jill McGill. Heather Young and Alena Sharp fell back to E, and they were caught by Il Mi Chung, Mi Hyun Kim, and Suzann Pettersen.

It's not like the people 5 to 9 shots back don't have a chance, but it's a very small chance, as Ochoa and Creamer are not at all likely to move backwards, while Park has something to prove to herself and her competitors that she can do more than dominate the Rookie of the Year race; even if all three falter on Saturday, their pursuers will need to put together two very low rounds in a row to even have a chance of catching them.

I still wonder if Annika is making the right decision to push her recovery so hard, but when she's T17 on a tough course, playing at probably about 2/3 capacity, you have to wish her the best of luck. I'm sure notable WDers Michelle Wie, Natalie Gulbis, and Grace Park, along with notable cut-missers Carin Koch, Brittany Lang, Catriona Matthew, Stacy Prammanasudh, Lorie Kane, Se Ri Pak, and, yes, Moira Dunn (by 1 shot, dammit!), are blown away by Sorenstam's play. Not to mention those who made the cut on the dot--which ended up at +4--like Laura Diaz, Morgan Pressel, Meena Lee, and Brittany Lincicome (who shot a gutty 68 to do it). Kyeong Bae, Jee Young Lee, Shi Hyun Ahn, and Juli Inkster, all at +3 (T51), and Ai Miyazato, Jimin Kang, and Hye Jung Choi, all at +2 (T35), must be wondering if they can catch even the injured Sorenstam over the weekend. As are the many players who followed up a good Thursday with a terrible Friday to fall back to +1 (T25), including Becky Morgan, Sun Young Yoo, Dorothy Delasin, and Julieta Granada.

Although the race to get into the top 10 is still wide open, I'd be surprised to see more than 1 or 2 other people in contention on the back 9 on Sunday than our current leaders.