Hee-Won Han opens three shot lead

Hee-Won Han considered herself lucky, and not just because she built a three-shot lead at the LPGA Office Depot Championship.

The South Korean golfer was one of just 71 players to finish the second round Saturday after a 3 1/2 -hour fog delay.

Han shot a 3-under 68 for a two-day total of 133 after a career-best 65 in the opening round.

``We were just waiting, waiting, waiting. It was a little bit frustrating,'' she said. ``We finished today, which is a pretty good thing. I'll play a little more aggressive tomorrow.''

Veteran Tina Barrett shot a 5-under 66, and former Southern California star Jennifer Rosales had a 1-under 70, tying for second at 136.

Swedes Eva Dahllof and Maria Hjorth, and Jamie Hullett each shot 69 and were tied for third at 137.

Two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam had a 70, including an eagle on No. 1, and was six strokes back at 139. Rookie Paula Creamer had a 1-over 72 and was at 140.

Seventy-two players -- more than half the 143-player field -- were stranded by approaching darkness and will complete the second round Sunday.

But Sunday's forecast called for dense fog in the morning, which could force a Monday ending to the 54-hole event.

``It's very difficult to see us finishing on time,'' LPGA tournament official Angus MacKenzie said.

For the second straight day Saturday, several golfers needed five hours or more to complete 18 holes.

``It's crazy, really,'' said Sorenstam, who faced a long line of fans waiting for autographs. ``It's been a very long day and I'm happy to be done. For these fans to stay around here is amazing.''

Sorenstam got off to a rousing start. She holed her second shot on the par-4, 315-yard first hole from 95 yards using a sand wedge, then birdied the par-5 No. 2. She double bogeyed the 397-yard, par-4 No. 6.

``The wind makes a big difference,'' she said. ``It's blowing from the ocean left to right. It's a whole different course than yesterday.''

Fog blanketed the new Trump National course along the Pacific Ocean, making holes disappear. That prevented 25 golfers stranded by darkness Friday from teeing off at 7:15 a.m. and completing the first round.

``We sat in the clubhouse and watched the fog roll out and back in,'' Barrett said. ``The hardest part was figuring out when we were going to go. It's just been a long day.''

Play was suspended about 25 minutes early Saturday because the fog rolled back in and reduced the daylight. The last group of the day had finished one hole when they were called in.

``The fog hurt us a lot,'' MacKenzie said. ``Mother Nature is fickle.''

Agonizingly slow play plagued Friday's opening round, which took some players six hours to finish. MacKenzie described the pace as ``horrendous,'' and blamed it on several factors, including being at a new course unfamiliar to the players, officials making more than 60 rulings, and having a full field of 144 players.

``You've got all this brush and natural cabbage,'' said MacKenzie, a Scotsman. ``If you get lost in there and you can't find your ball, you have to go all the way back to the tee.''

The terraced course owned by real estate mogul and TV star Donald Trump runs along the ocean, which means spectators and officials can only access one side, creating traffic jams on the walkways.

At last year's tournament in Tarzana, there were about 25 rulings a day, MacKenzie said. There are five officials to make rulings, and narrow cartpaths make it difficult for them to get around.

``Getting from A to B is a chore in itself,'' he said. ``It takes 20 minutes to get to a hole.''

One of the problems involving a Monday finish would be losing volunteers and rearranging airline tickets and hotel rooms, MacKenzie said.

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