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Ochoa, Park vie for the lead in Michelob Light Open
Williamsburg, May 03: Lorena Ochoa has been a model of consistency at the Michelob Light Open, playing 36 holes without a bogey. Grace Park`s two rounds have included 11 birdies, four bogeys, and an eagle followed immediately by a double-bogey.
Williamsburg, May 03: Lorena Ochoa has been a model of consistency at the Michelob Light Open, playing 36 holes without a bogey. Grace Park's two rounds have included 11 birdies, four bogeys, and an eagle followed immediately by a double-bogey.
They ended up in the same place Friday, as co-leaders with a 7-under par 135. They led by one stroke over Suzann Pettersen, who bogeyed two of her final three holes to give up the lead, and Akiko Fukushima, who birdied two of her final three holes.
"Maybe I will go to (nearby) Busch Gardens and do all the rides and get it done there and get it over with," Park said after her roller-coaster rounds. "A lot of great shots, a couple of misses, a lot of great putts. Lots of bad putts."
Cristie Kerr and Patricia Meunier-Lebouc shot 68s Friday and were tied for fifth. Annika Sorenstam, who began the day tied for sixth at 3-under, shot a 70 and finished tied for seventh, three strokes off the lead.
Play was suspended for about an hour shortly before 6 p.m. due to a thunderstorm.
Ochoa, 21, an LPGA rookie who joined the tour after consecutive years as NCAA Player of the Year at Arizona, said she has worked to tone down her normally aggressive play in favor of consistency.
"My caddie always reminds me: 'Patient, patient, patient,' " she said. "I like to be aggressive and I like to make every single shot and I get very excited, so I'm just trying to be patient."
Ochoa began the day tied for the lead with Giulia Sergas and Denise Killeen at 5-under, with Park one stroke behind. Killeen, who made two straight birdies Friday to get back to 5-under, then made five straight bogeys to finish well down on the leaderboard. Sergas shot a 74 and finished five shots off the lead.
The Kingsmill course, a former PGA Tour site, provided the best scoring opportunities in the first round on its three par-5s. That changed Friday. Park had an eagle and a birdie on the par-5s Thursday, but on Friday managed only two pars and a bogey. Ochoa played the par-5s in 2-under on Thursday, and even par on Friday. Sorenstam had an eagle and two birdies Thursday, but only a birdie on Friday.
"I didn't hit the fairways (on the par-5s), so I couldn't go for the green in two," Sorenstam said. "I was trying to be aggressive off the tee ... but I just didn't drive the ball as well today."
Asked what score will be needed to win the tournament, Sorenstam said, "I'm going to try to get double digits and see where it gets me."
Pettersen, who missed a 4-foot par putt on No. 18 to drop out of the lead, said it was her drive into the rough on that hole that got her in trouble. "I was a bit sloppy, a bit interrupted by some noise," she said. "You have to hit the fairways. The rough is killing you."
Club pro Suzy Whaley, playing on a sponsor's exemption, finished 8-over and missed the cut. Like Sorenstam, who will play against the men later this month at the Colonial, Whaley will play the PGA's Greater Hartford Open, after qualifying for that tournament by winning a sectional.
Bureau Report
They ended up in the same place Friday, as co-leaders with a 7-under par 135. They led by one stroke over Suzann Pettersen, who bogeyed two of her final three holes to give up the lead, and Akiko Fukushima, who birdied two of her final three holes.
"Maybe I will go to (nearby) Busch Gardens and do all the rides and get it done there and get it over with," Park said after her roller-coaster rounds. "A lot of great shots, a couple of misses, a lot of great putts. Lots of bad putts."
Cristie Kerr and Patricia Meunier-Lebouc shot 68s Friday and were tied for fifth. Annika Sorenstam, who began the day tied for sixth at 3-under, shot a 70 and finished tied for seventh, three strokes off the lead.
Play was suspended for about an hour shortly before 6 p.m. due to a thunderstorm.
Ochoa, 21, an LPGA rookie who joined the tour after consecutive years as NCAA Player of the Year at Arizona, said she has worked to tone down her normally aggressive play in favor of consistency.
"My caddie always reminds me: 'Patient, patient, patient,' " she said. "I like to be aggressive and I like to make every single shot and I get very excited, so I'm just trying to be patient."
Ochoa began the day tied for the lead with Giulia Sergas and Denise Killeen at 5-under, with Park one stroke behind. Killeen, who made two straight birdies Friday to get back to 5-under, then made five straight bogeys to finish well down on the leaderboard. Sergas shot a 74 and finished five shots off the lead.
The Kingsmill course, a former PGA Tour site, provided the best scoring opportunities in the first round on its three par-5s. That changed Friday. Park had an eagle and a birdie on the par-5s Thursday, but on Friday managed only two pars and a bogey. Ochoa played the par-5s in 2-under on Thursday, and even par on Friday. Sorenstam had an eagle and two birdies Thursday, but only a birdie on Friday.
"I didn't hit the fairways (on the par-5s), so I couldn't go for the green in two," Sorenstam said. "I was trying to be aggressive off the tee ... but I just didn't drive the ball as well today."
Asked what score will be needed to win the tournament, Sorenstam said, "I'm going to try to get double digits and see where it gets me."
Pettersen, who missed a 4-foot par putt on No. 18 to drop out of the lead, said it was her drive into the rough on that hole that got her in trouble. "I was a bit sloppy, a bit interrupted by some noise," she said. "You have to hit the fairways. The rough is killing you."
Club pro Suzy Whaley, playing on a sponsor's exemption, finished 8-over and missed the cut. Like Sorenstam, who will play against the men later this month at the Colonial, Whaley will play the PGA's Greater Hartford Open, after qualifying for that tournament by winning a sectional.
Bureau Report