In a season
of peaks and valleys, Annika Sorenstam was in a hurry to climb a foothill today.
Sorenstam turned a four-shot
deficit into a two-stroke lead with a 6-under-par 66 in the second round of the
New Albany Golf Classic.
"This
year has really been up and down for me," last year's LPGA player of the year
said. "I'm so close. I want to show that by posting a score, but I need to remember
to take my time."
Seeking her second victory of the year, Sorenstam was even-par for her round and
separated from the lead by several players as she completed the first nine holes.
So anxious was she to put
up a low score that she had to force herself to put on the brakes.
"If anything is wrong with
my swing, it's usually because I'm anxious to play," she said. "I have a tendency
to swing fast, walk fast - I'm quick in general. On my second nine, I had to make
an effort to start walking slower and talking slower - everything. I think it's
because I just feel like I'm close to playing well."
Holding back her urge to hurry, she blitzed the front side of the New Albany Country
Club layout with six birdies on the next eight holes, chipping in once from 35
feet and hitting approaches 2 feet and 1 feet from the cup for birdies.
After an opening-round
68, Sorenstam stands at 10-under 134 at the midpoint of the $1 million tournament.
Liselotte Neumann did a
variation on Sorenstam's round, rallying on the back nine to shoot a second consecutive
68 that left her at 8-under 136. She was even-par on the front side, but sprinted
to the finish with birdies at Nos. 11, 15, 16 and 18 to take second.
"I was watching the leaderboards
and I knew she was had posted 10-under," Neumann said of her fellow Swede. "I
just tried to stay concentrated on my own game. There is a lot of golf left and
with so many players 4-, 5- and 6-under par, a lot can happen."
Local favorite Meg Mallon, an Ohio State graduate, shot her second 69 to share
third with Rachel Hetherington and Mardi Lunn. Hetherington, who won back-to-back
tournaments earlier this year, followed a 70 with a 68, while Lunn had a 71. Lunn
started the day three shots back of first-round leader Kristal Parker-Gregory.
Parker-Gregory followed
her opening 64 - the lowest round of her pro career - with a 77 and sank seven
shots behind Sorenstam.
"It's
always hard to back up a good round," she said.
Leading money-winner Karrie Webb birdied two of the final three holes to get to
5-under 139, joined by Deb Richard.
Sorenstam got things going with a 9-iron to seven feet on her 10th hole. On the
next hole, she hit a 7-iron to 12 feet for birdie. Trying not to get ahead of
herself, she followed two pars with four consecutive birdies.
"I've
been very consistent in the past," said Sorenstam, who topped the money list in
three of the last four years. "My highest score was around 74 and my lowest was
probably 66. I knew I would always be 1- or 2-under par.
"But
this year it's been an up and down year. I don't like it, obviously. I like routines
and I want to post more consistent numbers. I don't know why it's happened. If
I did, I would stop the bleeding.
"It
feels very close. I just need patience. I know it will pay off."
Neumann, without a top-10 finish since placing second to Juli Inkster in the LPGA
Championship in July, played her best when in trouble. She hit her drive at the
ninth hole into the water, but was able to salvage bogey with a 12-footer.
At the par-4 12th, her
approach just missed the elevated green and came to rest on a strip of grass some
eight feet below the level of the green. She opened up a lob wedge and popped
the ball up over the wooden retaining wall, then made the 20-foot par putt.
"I'm just hoping the putter
stays hot," Neumann said.
Those missing the cut at 3-over included Inkster and Dottie Pepper.
Inkster, second on the money list, won last week's stop in Oregon to qualify for
the Hall of Fame. The week wasn't a total loss for Pepper, who won $100,000 in
a rain-delayed made-for-television match with Webb on Wednesday at a nearby course.
