Alfredsson & Myers back to form

One had a bad back, the other a bad attitude. Both had won, but with each week their glory days were becoming faded memories.

Helen Alfredsson and Terry-Jo Myers, stuck in the deepest ruts of their LPGA careers, each birdied the final three holes at Highland Meadows Golf Club today and shared the first-round lead at the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic.

Alfredsson and Myers, 96th and 150th on the money list respectively, shot 4-under-par 67s.

"I'm looking for my bogeys but there were none today," Alfredsson said in mock surprise after her lowest round of the year.

A 35-year-old Swede, Alfredsson hasn't posted a top-10 finish in her 11 starts this season and had missed the cut in three of her last four events. She blamed her troubles on personal problems in the offseason that led to a general malaise.

"I was really fighting for motivation,'' she said. "I didn't know what it was. I didn't feel that bad. I didn't feel like I was playing that badly, but I just couldn't score. I wasn't fighting the way I normally do. I was like, 'What is this attitude? I should just go home. Why am I out here wasting everybody's time?' "

Myers, a 37-year-old Floridian, has struggled since undergoing back surgery in late 1998 and again a year ago. She missed the cut in her first eight tournaments this season, but it has taken time to gain confidence and adapt to swing changes brought on by her injury.

"It's been about six weeks of seeing progress, although someone might not know that by looking at the scoreboard,'' Myers said.

Both turned things around on a wet and dreary day.

Alfreddson, who has won four LPGA tournaments and seven others around the world, hasn't won in two years. Starting on the 10th hole, she parred her first three holes and birdied four of the next six before parring out for her 67.

"I don't know if age is catching up or what the difference is,'' Alfredsson said. "I said a couple weeks ago, I wish I had the mentality I had from my 20s. I just didn't care. You're not looking for the perfect thing. You start thinking a lot more with experience.''

Playing late in the day, Myers finished with a flourish by nailing three long birdie putts. A three-time winner in 15 years on tour, she holed putts of 20, 15, and 20 feet to close her round.

Just over three months ago, after missing the cut with rounds of 79 and 78 at the Nabisco Championship, Myers considered retiring.

"I couldn't hit the ball out of my shadow -- and I'm not joking,'' she said. "My back still hurt a little and I couldn't practice as much. I thought, 'Well, I'm heading home. Maybe I should just stay home. I don't need to play. There are a lot of things more important in my life.' But I have an intense desire to play. Call me crazy. I guess smarter people would have quit by now.''

A shot back at 68 were Leta Lindley and Jennifer Feldott, both seeking their first tour victory. The pack at 69 included Laura Davies, with three-time 2000 winner Annika Sorenstam, Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez and two-time defending champion Se Ri Pak among the group at 70.

A year after making 19 of 26 cuts and finishing 22nd on the money list, Alfredsson had broken 70 only twice in 34 rounds before Thursday. Myers was even worse, shooting in the 60s only once in her 29 competitive rounds this season.

Starting on the back nine, Alfredsson -- who has finished tied for 11th and tied for eighth in her two previous Farr appearances -- suddenly found her swing. She hit a sand wedge to 6 feet for birdie at 13, then closed the side with three birdies in a row -- each time hitting her approach inside seven feet.

She was able to get up and down to save pars three times on her last nine holes to prevent another maddening round.

"You know how this game is -- it can drive you crazy,'' Alfredsson said.

Myers was 2-under through 12 holes, but then kept her round going by saving bogey with a 12-foot putt at 13 that set the scene for her hot finish.

Like Alfredsson, she also has had success at the Farr, finishing in the top 10 in two of her last three appearances.

"It's only Thursday, but I'm happy about how I finished the round, about how my back held up and how I hit my shots coming in,'' Myers said.

Despite light but persistent rain that softened and slowed the greens, scores were high considering the tournament's birdie-filled history. Only 37 of the 144 players broke par -- and 21 of them were at 1-under 70.

Two years ago, Pak set an LPGA record (later matched by Sorenstam) with a 61 in the second round and then went on to post the lowest 72-hole total ever on tour with a 261.

Just three shots back on a course she loves, Pak said she might just make it three in a row.

"There are still three days left, so everything is pretty much OK,'' she said.

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