Geddes aces way to two shot lead

A perfect shot was part of a perfect day for Jane Geddes, the leader after the1st-round of the LPGA Championship.

Geddes made her third career hole-in-one, a 6-iron from 158 yards, and birdied her final two holes for a 5-under-par 66 today and a two-stroke lead over some of the biggest names in women's golf.

Karrie Webb wasn't among them.

The 25-year-old Australian, trying to win the second leg of the Grand Slam and her third consecutive major championship, struggled on the thick, wet rough and smooth, fast greens at DuPont Country Club for a 1-over 72.

``I came here with a goal to have fun,'' said Geddes, who won the LPGA Championship in 1987 but hasn't won anything since 1994. ``I had a ball today.''

She also had very few expectations.

The dirt on Geddes' clubs was not from extra practice, but her last tournament three weeks ago. Her mind was 3,000 miles away at home in San Diego on a startup Internet company she recently founded, an escape from 18 years of professional golf.

``I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself,'' she said. ``I've been busy trying to figure out how to make a transition from this life to that one. This may be my last day to lead a major, and I'm out there thinking, `Enjoy this day.'

``I have no expectations right now. That might be the best way to go play.''

Among those chasing Geddes were Pat Bradley and Betsy King, two members of the Hall of Fame, along with Tracy Hanson and Gloria Park.

Like Geddes, Bradley has not exactly been dialed in to golf. The only reason she studies a leaderboard these days is to scout potential players for the Solheim Cup team she will captain in October.

It was a mild shock to see her name up there.

``I've kept one eye on my game and one eye on some of my players,'' she said.

It's best not to lose track of DuPont Country Club, which is much more difficult than recent years because of the thicker rough and greens that measured just under 11 on the Stimpmeter, the quickest they will see all year except for the U.S. Open.

Starting on the back nine, Geddes got off to a bad start - partly because she was 1 over, and partly because she was as tense as ever. Her caddie reminder her of the pledge to have fun, and that seemed to set her loose.

After a birdie got her back to even, Geddes' 6-iron on the 17th took two hops and rolled in for an ace. She closed out her round by hitting a sand wedge from a divot in the 18th fairway to 6 feet for her fifth birdie of the day.

Patty Sheehan helped carry the cause for the 40-and-over crowd with a 2-under 69 and was tied with Wendy Ward, Wendy Doolan and A.J. Eathorne of Canada.

Another stroke back was Laura Davies, a two-time winner of the LPGA Championship, which is sponsored by McDonald's.

DuPont is one of the few courses on tour where the Englishwoman has no problem hitting driver and taking advantage of her superior length. She made six birdies, but also picked up five bogeys by failing to negotiate the mesh-like rough around the greens.

``I made it look more difficult than it was,'' Davies said.

Dottie Pepper felt the same way, especially after taking a double-bogey on her par-5 closing hole for an even-par 71. A stiff breeze changed direction, into her face, and Pepper decided to hit driver instead of 3-wood. The ball clipped the last branch down the right side and dropped into the hazard.

``I managed my away around pretty good,'' Pepper said. ``I just haven't done very well getting the horse into the barn.''

Webb has never gotten off to a blazing start in the LPGA Championship. She rarely gave herself enough good looks at a birdie, and now needs a solid round on Friday to keep from falling too far behind.

Also at 72 were Annika Sorenstam and defending champion Juli Inkster.

``I just didn't have a very good round. I didn't hit many greens,'' said Webb, who has finished out of the top 10 just once this year. ``It could have been a lot worse today.''

For Geddes, nothing could have been better.

Her Internet company is called Planesia.com, part of what she calls the ``e-tailing craze.'' The company has 27 employees and is moving into a new office this week. Those are just some of the distractions Geddes is dealing with, but a first-round lead in a major championship helped get her mind off that second career.

``It would just be over the top ... for me to win another major right now,'' Geddes said.

Divots: The greens at DuPont were rebuilt last year and are faster than ever. But the practice green was left alone, and several players said they had a hard time adjusting to the difference in the speed early in the round. ... Christie Kerr, who was tied for the 54-hole lead before finishing fifth last year, withdrew because of the flu. ... Fifty-two players in the field spent last week in France for the Evian Masters. ``It was such a beautiful place that I would put up with a little jet lag to go over there,'' Inkster said. ... Cathy Gerring is playing in her first LPGA Championship since she was severely burned in a freak fire incident at the 1992 Sara Lee Classic. She had a 77.

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