A bogey-free 67 placed Annika Sorenstam near the top of the leaderboard in opening-round action today. Challengers were all fighting for the right to be in the lead, but it was Laura Davies who moved into the coveted position with a 6-under 66. Right behind Sorenstam was last week’s winner of the Michelob Ultra Open, Cristie Kerr (68). After her round today, with cameras flashing and reporters standing by, Kerr was asked about her feelings regarding Sorenstam in the field this week. Kerr replied, “Obviously, she’s been the best player in the world for a long time, but there’s a lot of players willing to step up and challenge her. I’m not too concerned about her. I’m just going to play my game.”
Annika played great today, but showed that she was human last week. Players felt more confident as a result of her missteps and attempted to catch the Swede, but her huge drives gave her sweet approach shots using short irons. Annika set up plenty of birdie opportunities and utilized her putter to her advantage. Most of her putts were short ones but she still missed a few opportunities to lower her score even further on the front, her back nine.
For example, at the seventh, Sorenstam had the chance for a birdie by chipping the ball within six feet, but couldn’t get up and down. She looked comfortable throughout her round, though, and it showed. “I’m happy to come out and be able to read some greens,” Sorenstam said. “Last week, I couldn’t see a single thing. I would tell my caddie, ‘I think it’s left edge,’ and he would say, ‘No, I think it’s on the right.’ I really didn’t know what to do. Here, I have a good feel, and it’s nice to be back on the right track again.”
42-year-old Brit Laura Davies (66) made eight birdies today. Although she had two bogeys during her round, I think that any time you can score almost half of your round as birdies, you did a phenomenal job! Nine fairways hit, ten greens-in-regulation, two sand saves and only nineteen putts were made during her round today… WOW!
Tied with the number-one LPGA golfer in the world is Australia’s Karrie Webb (67) and Italy’s Giulia Sergas, who shot a 31 on the back nine. Karrie made seven birdies during her round today, two bogeys on the fifth and eleventh holes and hit 13 greens in regulation but had to putt more than Davies, totaling 26 rolls of the rock.
Defending champion Jennifer Rosales has been plagued with an injured wrist which knocked her out of two tournaments recently. Rosales shot a 32 on the front nine with 2 birdies and a trememdous eagle on the par-5 6th hole. She played even par on the back nine to score a 4-under 68.
Other familiar faces in the field are Lorena Ochoa, currently in a tie for fifth with Cristie Kerr and Jennifer Rosales. Rosie Jones is tied for fourteenth place with fourteen other golfers. Jones’ golf bag and all of her clubs were stolen from right outside of her door this morning and she had to scramble to find another set.
Still in red numbers but in a tie for 29th at a 2-under 70 is veteran Juli Inkster, Stacy Prammanasudh and 16 other players. Amateur Morgan Pressel is not far behind, tied for 47th position with Natalie Gulbis with a 1-under 71. Paula Creamer played an even round of golf today but it wasn’t enough as the golfers shot low today. She is currently in 57th position with Nancy Lopez, tournament host, who feels she has a shot at making the cut for the weekend festivities.
Blue skies and fair temperatures are expected for tomorrow. The tournament was pushed back by two weeks to try and steer clear of stormy weather and it looks like it worked!
ESPN 2 will cover the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship on the following days: May 13 and 14th 2:00-4:00 pm ET and May 15 from 4:00-6:00 pm ET.
Pos Player Today R1 1 Laura Davies -6 66 T2 Annika Sorenstam -5 67 T2 Karrie Webb -5 67 T2 Giulia Sergas -5 67 T5 Nicole Jeray -4 68 T5 Heather Bowie -4 68 T5 Cristie Kerr -4 68 T5 A. J. Eathorne -4 68 T5 Lorena Ochoa -4 68 T5 Jennifer Rosales -4 68 T5 Lorie Kane -4 68 T5 Denise Killeen -4 68 T5 Suzanne Strudwick -4 68