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Ward opens two shot advantage

Wendy Ward posted an eight-under-par 64 to take a two-shot lead after Saturday's first round of the LPGA Champions Classic. Audra Burks and rookie Jennifer Hubbard each carded 66s for second place at six-under.

Friday's play was cancelled due to thunderstorms, forcing tournament officials to shorten the event to 36 holes.

Ward, who started on the 10th, birdied five of her first seven holes before taking a bogey at the par-three 17th, where she failed to save par after hitting her tee shot into a bunker. She birdied the second, fourth and sixth holes with putts from between 15 and 25 feet, then hit the green in two at the par-five eighth and two-putted from 15 feet for a final birdie.

"With 36 holes and 18 left to play, you’ve got to get on the board quick, and that’s easier said than done," said Ward, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour seeking her first victory since the 1998 Hawaiian Ladies Open. "You can’t just kind of scoot around tomorrow and think even-par will do it, because it’s not."

While having the first-round lead would seem to be a huge advantage in a two-day tournament, only four times has the leader after 18 holes held on to win in the 12 36-hole events played since 1970.

Burks, whose 66 marked the lowest round of her two-year career, opened her scoring with a seven-iron to three feet for a birdie at the second. She went on to birdie all four par-fives, then used a nine-wood approach to set up a four-foot birdie at the last.

"No bogeys and no fives today," said Burks, a member of the Futures Tour from 1990-99. "I think the only green I didn't hit was nine and I made a 10-footer there to save par."

Hubbard, who was also bogey-free on Saturday, is thrilled to be in contention after missing the cut in four of her first five events.

"I feel really good," said the 24-year-old Texan. "I actually didn’t hit the ball that great. Last week, I hit the ball so well and was two-over and missed the cut. I asked myself, ‘Why was I two over and the leaders are 12- under?’ So I went out and followed some of the players and decided it was putting. I made the decision to change my stroke and camped out on the putting green. That made a huge difference."

Dottie Pepper shot five-under 67 for a share of fourth place with Michelle Estill, Mhairi McKay, Anne Marie Palli and Smriti Mehra.

LPGA money leader Annika Sorenstam, the winner here last year, will enter Sunday's final round five shots off the pace after carding a 69. Karrie Webb is a shot further at minus-two.

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