Top seeds tumble in first round

Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak tumbled out of the World Ladies Match Play Championship on Thursday, losing first-round matches to lightly regarded Japanese opponents.

Sorenstam, the 2001 champion who has nine LPGA Tour victories this year, lost 2 and 1 to Chieko Amanuma, ranked last among the 16 Japan LPGA Tour players in the 32-woman field.

"I just didn't make anything today," said Sorenstam, who had three bogeys and one birdie in 17 holes. "In match play, you've got to make birdies and I just didn't make them."

Sorenstam lost Nos. 11 and 13 to fall three down. She cut the deficit to two with a birdie on the par-3 16th, but lost the match when Amanuma matched her par on No. 17.

"I hit the ball well today but just didn't make a single putt," Sorenstam said. "I wish I had an excuse, but I don't."

Pak, coming off her fifth tour victory of the year last week in her native South Korea, lost 1-up to Japan's Takayo Bandoh.

Pak won the 17th hole to pull within one, but Bandoh ended the match with a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 18.

After the first nine holes, Pak saw that Sorenstam was on her way toward losing her own match.

"It's just too bad for both of us," Pak said. I think we're tired after last week, and the grass here is different, so that makes things change. I don't know what I'm going to do here the rest of the week."

LPGA Tour and Japan LPGA players faced each other in all 16 first-round matches, with the LPGA Tour's Karrie Webb, Rosie Jones, Hee-Won Han, Laura Diaz, Lorie Kane, Kelly Robbins, Cristie Kerr, Michele Redman, Carin Koch and Grace Park advancing.

Webb, the Australia star seeking her third victory of the year, beat Taiwan's Hsui Feng-tseng 3 and 2 to set up a second-round match with Park, a 4 and 3 winner over Japan's Mikino Kubo.

"There were a little bit of nerves early. It took me a few holes to settle in, but I came back and won the next three holes, which helped me settle down," Webb said.

Yuri Fudo, the Japan LPGA's top-ranked player, beat Beth Bauer 3 and 2. Fudo will play the winner of a match between Australia's Rachel Teske and Taiwan's Yu-Chen Huang. They were all square through 27 holes when play was stopped because of darkness.

Jones and Kane routed their Japanese opponents, with Jones beating Mihoko Takahashi 5 and 4, and Kane topping Orie Fujino 7 and 6 on the Narita Golf Club course.

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