Killeen clear with second 65

Winless in 12 years as a pro, Denise Killeen moved closer to ending her drought Saturday, shooting a 6-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead in the ShopRite LGPA Classic.

Killeen was at 12 under heading into Sunday. First-round co-leader Giulia Sergas was two shots back, while Cristie Kerr and 17-year-old amateur Paula Creamer were also in contention, four shots off the lead.

Killeen, of Marietta, Ga., played error-free golf while playing partner Sergas birdied three of their first four holes, taking a two-shot lead.

After shooting even par for five holes, Killeen made short putts for birdie on the sixth and eighth holes, and then finished with a flourish. She birdied the last four holes for a two-day total of 130, tying the Classic record for 36 holes. She had the same score in Friday's opening round.

A little bit of luck helped.

On the 17th, a dogleg left, Killeen landed her tee shot in the rough but used a pitching wedge to hit a high-arching shot that dropped near the back of the green. The ball hit the fringe and seemed to hug it, following the semicircular cut and then rolling downhill toward the hole, coming to rest 3 feet from the pin to set up an easy birdie putt. She made it.

She picked up another stroke on the 18th, landing her second shot on the green of the 508-yard hole and two-putting for another birdie.

"Once those good things start to happen, you try to build on them," said Killeen, who has played bogey-free golf for two days.

But she's had precious little to build on through the years.

Since joining the tour in 1992, Killeen has never finished better than a tie for fourth. She has missed the cut in four of 10 events this year. But on Saturday, she had her own rooting section -- 6-year-old son, Drew, and 4-year-old daughter, Kaleigh.

"My 6-year-old, this is the first day he wanted to come out and watch me," Killeen said.

Sergas, of Trieste, Italy, used a deft touch with her pitching wedge to set up birdie putts of 3 feet on No. 2 and 9 feet on No. 4.

A pair of bogeys -- she drove into the rough on the eighth hole and three-putted the 12th green -- set her back, but she bounced back with two more birdies after that.

She, too, was optimistic about her chances for her first LPGA title.

"I feel really calm. I usually get nervous, like my heart beats really fast. I don't know, (it's) surprising, I'm really calm. And I just want to play," Sergas said.

Creamer, a high school senior playing with her boyfriend as her caddie, had nine birdies -- including five in a row -- en route to a 64 that put her in contention.

One of them came when she hit a 35-foot downhill putt on No. 4.

"I have been in a couple of LPGA tournaments and I really didn't do much, up to my standards, and I thought, 'Paula, you need to kick it in gear here.' This golf course sets up well for my game, and as long as the putter is hot here, I'll keep it real low," said Creamer, of Pleasanton, Calif.

Defending champion Angela Stanford missed the cut, which was 2-over par, by one stroke. Eighty-two players will compete in the final round of the $1.3 million event. Top prize: $195,000.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page