With 3 birdies and no bogeys in her first 11 holes, Lorena Ochoa was looking sharp at -7 for the tournament. She ended up shooting a 71, good enough for a share of the lead with Heather Young (who rattled off 5 birdies after opening the back par-bogey-double), but certainly not what she was hoping for on the 12th tee.
After a 33 on the front and a birdie on the 10th, Liselotte Neumann was on fire at -6 for the tournament. She ended the day where she had started it, at -2 (T7).
Thanks to 4 birdies and only 1 bogey through the 15th hole, Mi Hyun Kim was sitting pretty at -5 for the tournament. But she had to settle for her second straight 70, matching Maria Hjorth for a share of 3rd place. Karen Stupples, meanwhile, was -5 on the first tee, but after 4 bogeys in her first 7 holes on the back, looked to be in serious trouble; although she rallied with 3 birdies in her next 4 holes to get back to -4, she ended up with a 75, dropping her from 1st to T7 heading into the weekend.
With 4 birdies and only 1 bogey in her first 11 holes, Annika Sorenstam was -4 for the tournament and looking to make one of her patented charges. She ended up with a 70, tied with Hee-Won Han, who also reached -4 before bogeying the 18th hole. Ai Miyazato was -4 for the tournament through her first 6 holes, but ended up shooting a 74 to join the only player happy to end the day at -2 for the tournament, Se Ri Pak, and the other unfortunates at T7.
If all this happened to the players playing Mission Hills well, what about the rest of the field at the Kraft Nabisco Championship? Let's just say for now that there's only one player left on the course with a shot at surpassing Moira Dunn's 68. Stay tuned.
[Update 1: Hound Dog's recap and highlights and Mulligan Stu's overview cover most of the ground I would have (and some I never planned to), so let me just note that Laura Davies would be right in the thick of things if her 10 on the 18th on Thursday would have been a par or birdie and that Juli Inkster was 18's latest victim--in fact, she was E with 3 to go and finished bogey-bogey-snowman to make the cut right on the line. If players of this caliber and experience are feeling the force of gravity this early in the tournament, imagine what the weekend is going to do to the players not used to the pressure of a major. Moving Day will be interesting!]
[Update 2: Thanks to a correction from The Florida Masochist, this Baldry piece on the best player looking for her first major is much better. But to make up for her original slight of Hee-Won Han, she ought to profile this new mom. I'm sure she has as many interesting things to say as Karen Stupples....]
[Update 3: And here's the latest Se Ri-port.]
[Update 4: The Golf for Women editors are bringing it this week! Their posts are not to be missed!]
[Update 5: Ah, turns out Baldry did! As good a time as any to praise Golfweek's KNC coverage, as well. But see The Florida Masochist on the Baldry backstory--sometimes the golfy media needs a little kick in the butt to do its job right!]
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