Five share opening day lead

Annika Sorenstam was efficient, not magical, in the first round of the Ping Banner Health. Even that was enough to keep her in a familiar place -- leading in Phoenix.

Returning to the Moon Valley Country Club where she set LPGA Tour records last year with the first 59 by a women in tournament play and a 27-under-par 261 total, Sorenstam showed she was mortal with a 5-under 67 Thursday.

Still, it tied her with Shani Waugh, Jackie Gallagher-Smith, Emilee Klein and Kelly Robbins for the lead.

``I feel great,'' Sorenstam said. ``I probably would've been jumping up and down if I would have made par on 18. I'm very happy with my start. I thought it was very difficult today.''

Akiko Fukushima, Catriona Matthew and Moira C. Dunn were a shot back, and Laurel Kean and Kate Golden had 69s.

Last year, Sorenstam shot a 65 in the first round, but trailed Kris Tschetter by two shots. She had her 59 the next day, going 20-under after 36 holes, and closed with 69-68 to keep rivals Se Ri Pak, Karrie Webb and Lorie Kane at bay.

This year, Sorenstam's opening-round score is significant because it came during an afternoon when wind raked the course, forcing many into horrendous rounds. Only 28 players broke par.

Pak, second by two strokes last year, struggled to a 74. Webb, who lost a playoff to Sorenstam in the Australian Ladies Masters last month, fared even worse -- carding a 77 -- and four-time Phoenix champion Laura Davies shot an 81.

``If somebody can do it, they can,'' Sorenstam said about the chance of Pak and Webb catching up. ``Again, it depends on the conditions. If it's no wind the rest of the week, then they will need maybe a 59 or so, because the course is easy to score on because the greens are so good.''

Sorenstam beat Kane in a playoff in Hawaii on March 2 to win the first LPGA Tour event of the season. This time, Kane fared the best of those considered threats to Sorenstam's bid to repeat, topping a 10-player group at 70.

Sorenstam birdied the first hole, but her pace slowed as conditions worsened.

With the wind at her back on No. 4, Sorenstam pulled her drive left into the rough, hit her second shot into a bunker and wedged out for a 5-foot birdie putt.

Two holes later, she grimaced after a 12-foot, cross-green putt for birdie rolled past the cup -- high by an inch.

But Sorenstam saved par on the seventh hole and reached 3 under on No. 8, the second par-5 on the front nine, where she got down in four thanks to another strong bunker shot and an 18-foot birdie putt that drew applause as she beamed and waved.

On No. 9, where Sorenstam made history on March 16, 2001, by two-putting from 20 feet for the par that completed the first sub-60 round on tour, she gave another display of the short game she vowed to improve during the offseason.

In the fringe 40 feet from the flag after her second shot, Sorenstam putted within 3 1/2 feet, then rolled in the putt to save par.

``I must say I``m tired,'' she said. ``I've been thinking all day, really trying to focus. When you get conditions like this, you want to make sure that you don't fall too far behind.''

Sorenstam had three birdies in four holes after the turn -- Nos. 12 through 15 -- to take sole possession of the lead.

But she three-putted for bogey on No. 18 and backed into the tie.

The final hole also was Robbins' undoing.

The only other player to reach 6 under, Robbins got there with a 7-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole. She promptly gave back that shot by driving right of the 18th fairway, hitting an iron across to the left and two-putting after a chip.

``I'm just trying to take some baby steps right now and get my game -- tee to green -- to do what I want to do,'' said Robbins, who won the last of her nine titles in 1999. ``I mean, just to be able to roll the rock or the potato or whatever they call it. There's no substitute for making putts.''

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