Annika played a round for the ages yesterday. Hoganesque. "Where were you when . . ." "I didn't really miss a single shot today," Sorenstam said. "It was a great day ... more than I could ever have expected. I'm very, very pleased with that. I would love to make the cut. But if I play [the second round] like I did today, then it really doesn't matter."
A tough act to follow, but something a little less flawless will still present opportunities for something magical. Annika's first chip shot of the tournament seems likely to be simple and equally likely to be executed center cut perfect. And something better with the putter is only a must. Regardless, putting Thursday behind her and playing with the focus that today is the moment she has waited a long time for is the only thing that will get it done. But she showed it can be done.
( . . .The world's top-ranked woman's player found trouble only once, in the left-hand rough at the par-4 fifth, part of the famed "Horrible Horseshoe." Sorenstam found the green at No. 5 but three-putted from 63 feet for her first of two bogeys . . . Her first putt there was like most of her other birdie tries: short on speed. Sorenstam saw 11 such putts die before the hole. Some of that, she said, stemmed from playing it safe on holes with tricky pin placements. Other times, it was nerves . . . "I was a little tentative all day long," said Sorenstam, who needed 33 putts over her 18 holes (rank: 109th). "And when I get a little nervous, I get a little tentative. That's what happened . . . "I kept telling myself, 'Hit it.' Then I would hit it and suddenly have a long putt coming back. ... So, I've got to work on the speed, especially on my lag putts, and I will figure it out." . . .However, her nerves weren't evident from tee to green. Sorenstam, using either driver, 4-wood or 7-wood, played from the short grass on 92.2 percent of her driving holes, and none of her 18 shots into greens -- struck mostly with 6- and 7-irons and usually from 160 to 170 yards -- found trouble . . . Hence, the 18 birdie putts. Hence, the missed opportunities . . . "Yeah ... I left a few putts out there," Sorenstam said. "But under these circumstances, I knew I was going to make some mistakes. And if these are the mistakes I make, I'll take them." . . . Her remedy? A session on the practice green but not an alteration to her game plan -- even though she'll start her second round below the projected cut line . . ."I'm going to play conservative [today] as well," Sorenstam said. "But if I have shorter clubs in, I might go for the flag more.")
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Friday 3 Balls for 1* each @ Bet365:
Perry(+140) over Rollins/Parnevik
Cink(+100) over Johansson/Herron
Beem(+175) over Roberts/Appleby
Barber(+200) over Wilson/Sorenstam
Friday Matchups for 1* @ 5 dimes:
Lonard(-115) over Austin
GL
