Just when it looked like a bad day was about to get worse, Annika Sorenstam turned a good break into a birdie that changed everything in the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.
Sorenstam kept pace with a steady charge from Karrie Webb, then pulled away with back-to-back birdies late in the second round for a 4-under 68 that set the 36-hole record at Trump International. She took a three-shot lead over Webb, Laura Diaz and Cristie Kerr.
"I've got a little lead, but not a comfortable lead at all," said Sorenstam, who was at 10-under 134. "On this golf course, it can change on one hole."
It changed for the better on the par-5 ninth.
Sorenstam was even par for her round, and her body language showed utter frustration -- she shook her head and slumped her shoulders. When she walked off the eighth green, she no longer had the lead. Then, her 7-wood from 214 yards on No. 9 sailed high and to the right, headed for trouble.
Webb, a two-time winner at the tournament, has avoided big numbers for two days and looked particularly sharp in her round of 69 that might have been better except for a few silly bogeys -- she three-putted from below the big ridge on No. 6 and missed the 12th green with a wedge. But she is driving it well and giving herself plenty of chances.
Diaz had a 68 and will play in the final group on Saturday with Sorenstam. That's not a bad place to be considering that Diaz wasn't even in the ADT Championship until she birdied her last two holes a week ago to finish second and earn enough money to get into the top 30 on the money list.
Englishmen Paul Casey and Luke Donald surged to a five-stroke lead in the second round of the team World Cup, shooting an 8-under-par 64 for a two-round total of 19-under 125 on Friday.
The Austrian team of Martin Wiegele and Markus Brier carded a 70, with a half dozen teams in a pack six strokes behind the leaders: South Africa (65), Sweden (67), Spain (68), Japan (69), Ireland (71) and the US (67).
Casey and Donald got rolling with four straight birdies starting at No. 3. In a streak through 14 holes, they birdied nine playing the more difficult foursomes (alternate shot) format.
England shot 11-under 61 on Thursday playing fourball (better ball) to trail co-leaders Ireland and Austria by one. On Friday, Ireland's Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington slipped to a 71.
Casey made all nine of his team's birdie putts -- all under 5m -- with sunny skies and a light breeze leaving the Real Club de Golf open to low scores.
"I actually felt I didn't play very well," Casey said.
The English had few problems. When they did, Donald saved pars with crucial putts.
After four straight birdies, Donald salvaged a par from 4m on No. 7. On 10, he saved par from 7m.
The little-know Austrian pair of Wiegele and Brier didn't buckle after a 60 on Thursday. They will play with the English in the last group on Saturday when the format returns to fourball (better ball).
For Ireland, which shot a 60 on Thursday, any chance of a decent round was ruined when Harrington found water on the 16th, leading to a double-bogey 7.
Oklahoma friends Bob Tway and Scott Verplank managed a 67. They know each other's game, playing almost every practice round together on the US PGA Tour.
Their round turned at No. 9, where Verplank hit a 3-wood to 5M, and Tway dropped the eagle putt.
Casey, who apologized on Thursday for derogatory comments he made to English newspapers about Americans, was confronted on the course Friday by American Amy Sabbatini, wife of South African player, Rory.
She wore a handmade sign that read: "Stoopid Amerikan."
"Call this my political statement," she said. "I saw what he said about us and didn't like it. He saw me and smiled, but then he read what my T-shirt had on it and quit smiling."
Casey was quoted in English newspapers saying he "hated" Americans and was critical of the choice of Tom Lehman as US Ryder Cup captain. One paper ran his story under the headline: "Americans are stupid. I hate them."
The Acushnet Co, which paid Casey to use its Titleist equipment, put out a statement on Friday saying that Casey's comments do not reflect the company's views "and were not made in his capacity as an endorser of our products."
Acushent CEO Wally Uihlein also said that the company and Casey had mutually agreed not to renew his contract when it expires at the end of the year.
The international team took a 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 lead over the US on Friday after the first round of the US$3 million UBS Cup, the Ryder Cup-style competition the Americans have never lost. Now in its fourth year, the match play competition features teams of 40-and-older players, one from the US and one from the rest of the world.
Americans Hale Irwin and Fred Funk defeated Sam Torrance and Barry Lane 5 and 3 to give the US an early lead in Friday's alternate-shot matches.
Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle tied the tournament with a 4 and 3 victory over Americans Scott Hoch and Tom Watson, the designer of the 6,338m, par-72 Cassique Course.
The Rest of the World team took the lead when Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie won their match. After falling behind by two after two holes, the pair birdied the eighth, ninth and 10th to pull back into contention.
They took a 1-up victory over Tom Kite and Raymond Floyd in a match tied going into the 18th hole. The Americans lost by bogeying the hole.
"It's like having a mile race and a guy is leading off for the first quarter-mile. It really doesn't mean anything, does it?" said Gary Player, captain of the international team.
In other matches on Friday, John Chillas and Carl Mason defeated Americans Curtis Strange and Craig Stadler 4 and 3. Hal Sutton and Fred Couples of the United States defeated Peter Senior and Rodger Davis 3 and 2.
American captain Arnold Palmer and Jay Haas halved their match with Player and Mark McNulty.
The matches were played in excellent conditions. Saturday features best-ball competition, while 12 singles matches are set for Sunday.
Former tournament winner Kirk Triplett and PGA Tour rookie Ryan Palmer shot 6-under 66s on Friday and share a one-stroke lead with reigning Nationwide Tour champion Nick Watney after two rounds of the Pebble Beach Invitational.
Triplett, who won the tournament in 1996, dropped to 9-under 135 after a clear, near windless day at Spyglass Hill, considered the most difficult of the tournament's three courses.
"I've played some good rounds at Spyglass, but I can't think of a better round than this," said Triplett, who had six birdies and zero bogeys. "I just really played well today."
The 72-hole event is being played at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill Golf Course and Del Monte Golf Course.
The tournament includes 54 pros from the PGA, LPGA, Champions and Nationwide tours, as well as mini-tour players, club pros and amateurs.
Triplett, who last won at the Reno-Tahoe Open in 2003, finished 38th on the PGA Tour money list last season.
Watney, who shot a 67, and Palmer played at Del Monte.
Jeff Brehaut moved into contention with a 67 and is alone in second place at 8 under. Tommy Armour is another shot back after a 67.
Former tournament winner Olin Browne, JJ Jakovac and Kelli Kuehne, who shared a two-stroke lead after the first round, all faltered.
Browne shot a 72 and is 6 under, tied with former PGA Championship winner Rich Beem, who had a 69. Jakovac shot a 75 and Kuehne a 79 to fall back.
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