Barb Mucha was worried about making the cut. She wound up making LPGA history.

Mucha equaled tour records for lowest score on a par-72 course and most birdies in a round, shooting a 10-under 62 to join four other players leading the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship after the second round today.

"I had to stay out of my own way," said Mucha, playing only her third tournament of the year after taking four months off. "It was a strange round. I wasn't overly confident."

Mucha, who shot a 72 in the opening round, bogeyed No. 5 to slip back to even par. At that point, she was merely hoping to make the cut.

"My swing was a little off," she said. "It wasn't an easy round. I was grinding it out internally."

After the bogey, Mucha put together a streak of seven straight birdies that finally ended when she missed a 12-foot putt at No. 13.

She finished the round at Eagles Landing Country Club with 11 birdies, tying the mark set by Vicki Fergon in the 1984 San Jose Classic. Mucha became the eighth to shoot 62 on a par-72 course, the last being Meg Mallon in the Myrtle Beach Classic a year ago.

The only player to post a lower round was Se Ri Pak, who fired a 61 on a par-71 course in the Jamie Farr Classic last year.

"This game is so crazy," Mucha said. "You think you're playing well and you shoot a 75. You think you're going to miss the cut and you wind up shooting a 62. How do you explain that?"

In spite of her record round, Mucha had plenty of competition from all corners of the globe. She was one of two Americans at 10-under 134 -- Leslie Spalding was the other -- and they were joined by Sweden's Maria Hjorth, South Korea's Mi Hyun Kim and Australia's Rachel Hetherington.

It was the most crowded leaderboard since five players shared the top spot heading into the final round of the State Farm Rail Classic last August.

Canada's Lorie Kane and American Sherri Steinhauer were one shot behind the leaders.

Mucha had a brilliant day with the irons, converting six birdie putts from 5 feet and closer. She moved into record territory by rolling in a 15-footer at No. 15 and a 20-footer at 17.

For good measure, Mucha also broke the course record of 63, which had been equaled earlier in the round by Jean Bartholomew. On a warm, sunny day that provided prime scoring conditions, the top 14 players ravaged the 6,187-yard layout for an average of seven birdies apiece.

Mucha has a definite edge in terms of experience over the other leaders, having won five times on the LPGA Tour including the Chick-fil-A tournament in 1996. Hetherington, who posted her first victory last year, is the only other past winner among those at 10-under.

Hjorth, the first-round leader after a 65, followed up with 69 as she tries to carve out a niche among the more prominent names from her golf-crazed country. The only major slip in her round was a double-bogey at 17, when her tee shot landed in the water.

"I played well," Hjorth said. "I felt like I got everything bad out of me" at 17.

Marianne Morris, playing her first tournament since the February shooting death of her brother, couldn't follow up her first-round success. After a 67 put her just two shots off the lead, she bogeyed six of nine holes Saturday and withdrew midway through the round, complaining of an upset stomach.

Divots: Karrie Webb, the hottest player on the tour, shot a 67 and was just three shots off the lead. ... Dana Dormann had a hole-in-one at No. 8, sinking a 6-iron from 164 yards. A round of 66 put her four shots back at 138. ... The cut was even-par 144, the lowest of the year. ... Seventy players will return Sunday. but defending tournament champion Liselotte Neumann won't be among them. She missed the cut after a 71 left her with a two-day total of 145.