Sorenstam looming behind leaders

Sherri Turner breathed a sigh of relief after her best round of golf this year, then wondered how long her good fortune at the Corning Classic might last.

With Annika Sorenstam lurking just three strokes behind Turner, who tied Sophie Gustafson for the first-round lead Thursday at 6-under 66, that was understandable.

``Annika is in a different league, completely,'' said the 48-year-old Turner, who won here 17 years ago. ``She's the type of player that any day can shoot 62. I know what her capabilities are. I just have to think about what I did today and not compare it to somebody else, keep it in perspective.''

Sorenstam, the defending champion who has won four times in five starts this year, opened with a 69, but was repeatedly hampered by a pesky wind that seemed to blow every which way but up.

``If the wind was one direction, then obviously you can have a game plan,'' said Sorenstam, who averaged 303 yards on her drives and hit 11 of 14 fairways. ``It was tricky out there with the wind swirling constantly.''

And the trickery started early. Two weeks after dominating the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship, in which she played the first 39 holes of the tournament without a bogey, things changed quickly for Sorenstam. She started with a bogey at No. 10, then had another at the 13th to fall behind her playing partners, two-time Corning winner Rosie Jones and Christina Kim.

Sorenstam then staged a quick turnaround, starting with an eagle at the 510-yard, par-5 No. 14. She hit a 4-wood within 7 feet to become the first player in the tournament's 27-year history to make the elevated green on the second shot. She then calmly made the short, twisting putt to go back to even par.

Sorenstam hit to 5 feet and made birdie at No. 15, and followed with two more birdies to move into contention.

At the par-5 second, Sorenstam scored her fifth eagle of the year to move to the top of the leaderboard at 5 under. But she faltered with bogeys at Nos. 5 and 7, the result of the gusting conditions, which often made a picture-perfect, sunny day treacherous.

``I didn't start as well, and then I didn't finish as well as I'd like to,'' said Sorenstam, seeking her 61st LPGA tournament triumph. ``It was a little bit up and down for sure, but I'm glad I had a good stretch in the middle.''

Turner played in one of the final threesomes of the day and started quickly, making eagle on the second hole and carding three more birdies before the turn. She finished with her first round in the 60s this year to tie Gustafson, who closed with five birdies over her final seven holes on the way to her best round of the season.

Sorenstam was tied with 1986 Corning winner Laurie Rinker, Catherine Cartwright, Jamie Hullett, and Mee Lee and Jimin Kang of South Korea.

Sorenstam, who had four three-putts, finished her round with three straight pars, and they came when the wind seemed stiffest.

``On my last hole I thought I was totally downwind, and by the time I'm going to hit it's into the wind, and by the time I get to the green it's left to right,'' she said, shaking her head. ``I could have used three different clubs. You had to time it pretty well. It makes it difficult.''

Gustafson missed the cut two weeks ago when Sorenstam won by 10 strokes, and her only round in the 60s this year came a month ago in the first round of the Takefuji Classic.

On this day, even the wind that often befuddled Sorenstam didn't seem to have as much of an effect on Gustafson. She tied her fellow Swede with an 8-foot birdie putt at the par-4 13th hole, the most difficult on the short and narrow Corning Country Club course.

Gustafson followed with three straight birdies, capping her impressive string with a 10-foot putt at 17.

``You've got to be aggressive here,'' said Gustafson, who needed only 24 putts on the round, seven fewer than Sorenstam. ``I had a couple of bogeys where I wasn't really sure where the wind was coming from.''

DIVOTS

Tessa Teachman, a 15-year-old from Rochester, N.Y., the youngest player to ever qualify at Corning, shot a 1-over 73 and was in contention to make the cut. ... Jan Stephenson and Danielle Amiee withdrew on Thursday. Amiee, who won The Golf Channel's ``Big Break III,'' cited a back problem. She didn't make the cut at her only other start, the Michelob Ultra Open three weeks ago. ... Caryn Wilson, the 45-year-old who began golfing at age 31, aced the 125-yard 15th hole with a 9-iron.

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