Rookie Marisa
Baena is not a morning person and that helped her grab a share of the second-round
lead of the $725,000 LPGA First Union Betsy King Classic today.
The 22-year-old native of Colombia slept in an hour before the round, counting
on a frost delay that wound up postponing play for 75 minutes. She then birdied
three of the final four holes to shoot a 4-under 68 and tie fellow South American
Jenny Lidback at 6-under 138 for 36 holes at the 6,085-yard Berkleigh Country
Club course.
"I'm
having fun again," said Baena, a three-time All-America from the University of
Arizona. "I have the feeling that my game is back. I want to be on top again like
I was in college."
Lidback, a 36-year-old citizen of Peru, matched her opening-round 69 thanks to
a 50-foot birdie putt to stay in the hunt for her first win since the 1995 du
Maurier Classic.
"I've
never played with Marisa before," Lidback said. "But we talk to each other a lot.
That's how we practice our Spanish. I don't know how we'll be talking to each
other Saturday, but it will be in Spanish."
One shot off the pace were Hall of Famer Beth Daniel and tour veteran Laurie Rinker-Graham.
Daniel, seeking her 33rd
career win, used three consecutive birdies on the front side to backbone a round
of 69 that gave her a 139. Daniel, starting on the back side, vaulted up the jumbled
leaderboard by making birdies at Nos. 16-18, all from inside 10 feet.
A chunk of mud on the ball prevented Daniel from reaching the second green in
regulation but she made up for that stroke with a lob wedge on No. 5 that set
up a 7-footer below the hole.
The 37-year-old Rinker-Graham is in position for her first win since the 1986
LPGA Corning Classic following a 69 that featured five birdies and two bogeys.
Her second round was fueled by a 35-foot chip in on No. 7 and birdie putts of
30 and 20 feet.
Rinker-Graham's place in the tournament turned around after nightfall Thursday
when she rolled in a 35-footer for birdie on No. 9 in total darkness.
"I couldn't see the hole,"
Rinker-Graham said. "I just wanted to get the round over with. I don't know how
it went in."
Mi
Hyun Kim and Carin Koch were also in the mix at 140.
Karen Stupples was 4 under until three-putting her final green in total darkness.
The field lost some star
quality when defending champion Rachel Hetherington shot another 76 to miss the
cut and Korean sensation Se Ri Pak, the leading money winner in the field, withdrew
with a shoulder injury.
The cut was 4-over 148.
First-round co-leaders Amy Benz and Lisa Kiggens both had difficult second rounds.
Benz, winless in 17 years
on tour, bogeyed three consecutive holes while skying to a 77 that left her at
even par. Benz also shot a 77 to squander her share of the lead at Myrtle Beach
earlier this season.
Kiggens had seven bogeys in an erratic round of 76 that dropped her back in the
pack.
Hall of Famer
Betsy King's famed Bullseye putter missed the mark a few times during a round
of 75 that left the tournament hostess at level par.
Smerti Mehra recorded a rare double eagle. She holed a 206-yard 3-wood on the
par-5, 475-yard 18th for a 2 that gave her a 72, but her 153 still missed the
cut.
