ShopRite Classic Friday Afternoon: Can Azahara Munoz Succeed Where Beatriz Recari Failed?

As I noted earlier, Beatriz Recari was -5 through her 1st 8 holes this morning in the ShopRite Classic, but collapsed over her last 10 to finish at E. Well, another young Spaniard is out in -5 through 8: this time, it's Azahara Munoz. Let's see how she finishes this afternoon!

[Update 1 (3:33 pm): Don't have the slightest idea how she's doing it, but Paula Creamer just matched Amy Hung's morning feat of closing out the front with 3 birdies in a row for a 33! Well, 7 fairways, 7 greens, and 12 putts certainly help!]

[Update 2 (3:36 pm): Watch out for Hee-Won Han! She shot a bogey-free 30 on the back (thanks in part to a Creameresque 12-putt performance) and still has the front to play, where there are a lot more birdies to be had....]

[Update 3 (5:27 pm): Ah, the wind must have come up, for there haven't been a lot of strong finishes for the Golf Channel cameras, at least among the fast starters in the afternoon pairings. Munoz hasn't made a birdie since I blogged about her, and she's now only -3 with 1 hole left to play. Creamer has made 2 more birdies, but she's offset them with a pair of bogeys and remains at -4, like Han, who's parred every hole on the front. They, too, have only 1 hole to go. Laura Davies, Catriona Matthew, and Gwladys Nocera have already posted 67s, good enough for T8s or a spot among the top 20 players in the field, depending on how you count it. Teresa Lu, who's -4 through 13, has the best chance to surpass them, although if Suzann Pettersen can birdie her final hole, she, too, can join them.]

[Update 4 (5:30 pm): Wow, check out Michelle Wie's scorecard! -3 over her last 12 holes of bogey-free golf, but seeing as how she played bogey golf over her 1st 6 (that is, she had a bogey, double, and triple!), she'll be fighting to make the cut tomorrow.]

[Update 5 (5:33 pm): OK, so let's throw some numbers at you. 68 by Cristie Kerr. 69s by Juli Inkster and Morgan Pressel. 70s by Karrie Webb, Sophie Gustafson, Eun-Hee Ji, and Stacy Lewis.]

[Update 6 (5:42 pm): Creamer, Han, Pettersen, and Munoz in with 67s. Matthew actually had a 66, the best score in the afternoon pairings thus far. Lu, at -4 through 13, still has the best chance to take the title.]

[Update 7 (5:53 pm): Looks like Davies, Wie, and Alexis Thompson were the few players in the field to try to overpower the Bay Course. It worked for Davies, not for Wie, and for Thompson? Well, if she can eagle the 18th, like several have, maybe it will have been worth it. Let's see.]

[Update 8 (5:56 pm): Ah, well, she parred it for an even-par 71. Not bad for a 15-year-old!]

[Update 9 (8:57 pm): Lu couldn't go lower than 67, either. Nice 69 from Jane Park. Lu was the 21st player to break 68 and Park the 44th to break 70.]

[Update 10 (6/19/10, 11:04 pm): Here is Hound Dog's excellent overview and 1st-round notes and interviews from LPGA.com.]