Sunshine shone gloriously through the clouds at the River Course after rainswept winds stopped play on Friday, allowing the ladies to play their second round today. Cristie Kerr led a charge going 3-under par and tying her first round of 68. Three bogeys were speckled among her six birdies.
And, good news for Annika Sorrenstam… she has made the cut! Whew, that was close! Actually, Annika rebounded beautifully from her less than perfect opening round, posting a 4-under 67 today and is currently tied for 26th place with 11 other golfers . Sorenstam made her charge from the 11th to the 15, with birdies on 4 out of 5 holes. “I just needed a few birdies to get me going,” said Sorenstam. “A few more would have been great to get on the leaderboard and tell them I’m still here.”
Annika didn’t get her round going early on, missing some key birdie putts long, others short, but her putter started working at the 11th, dropping a 15-footer. “After that, it was just going my way,” she said. “I was dialed in.”
Sorenstam came from behind in the past charging from a 10-stroke deficit on Sunday at the 2001 Office Depot. At the Safeway International this year, Annika was down by four strokes with three holes left and won in a playoff against Mexican Lorena Ochoa, so let’s not count Annika out of the tournament just yet.
Paula Creamer (70), Lorena Ochoa (70), Grace Park (73), Jennifer Rosales (72) and Natalie Gulbis (73) are currently tied for 14th on the leaderboard.
Even more important today than the score for Paula Creamer was the announcement that the rookie is to receive the sixth annual Nancy Lopez Award. The award is chosen by the LPGA and presented annually to the world’s top female amateur golfer from the prior season. And, Creamer deserves this honor.
As an amateur, Creamer’s final year was memorable. Finishing in a tie for 13th place at the U. S. Women’s Open she also represented her country honorably at the Curtis Cup and the World Amateur Team Championship. She played on the LPGA Tour as an amateur, competing in seven events, and making the cut each time. Capping off her phenomenal amateur career was a second place finish to Cristie Kerr at the Shoprite Classic and then a win in Q-School, probably one of the biggest challenges for any amateur. If Paula continues her strong season, she should be able to capture the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award (and claim a beautiful Rolex too!). Congratulations, Paula!
Big Break III winner, Danielle Amiee, completed her round with a 77 today, missing the cut, but showing improvement over her first round. Amiee had zero birdies and speckled her card with 4 bogeys, with one double bogey on the 8th. Amiee bogeyed her first hole (#10) but then settled down, with pars on the balance of her front nine finishing the front with a 1-over 36. Amiee hit 10 out of 14 fairways, but had 30 putts on her card. Interestingly enough, Danielle was only two strokes back of defending champion, Se Ri Pak. She’ll now have time to practice her game until her next exemption, the Corning Classic.
Pos Player Today Tot R1 R2 1 Cristie Kerr -3 -6 68 68 T2 Michele Redman -2 -4 69 69 T2 A. J. Eathorne -2 -4 69 69 T4 Shi Hyun Ahn -1 -3 69 70 T4 Nicole Perrot -2 -3 70 69 T6 Jill McGill +1 -2 68 72 T6 Wendy Doolan E -2 69 71 T8 Jimin Kang +1 -1 69 72 T8 Silvia Cavalleri +3 -1 67 74 T8 Mi Hyun Kim +1 -1 69 72 T8 Beth Daniel E -1 70 71 T8 Catriona Matthew E -1 70 71 T8 Rosie Jones -1 -1 71 70
The final two rounds will both be played on Mother’s Day, May 8, and be televised from 5:00-7:00pm ET on ESPN2.