Four players tie up Sybase Classic after two rounds

Leading LPGA Tour rookies Paula Creamer and Kim Joo-mi were among four players tied for the lead after two rounds of the Sybase Classic on Friday.

First-round leader Christina Kim and 2002 Sybase champion Gloria Park were also at 5-under 137 after two trips around the Wykagyl Country Club course.

Creamer, who is 18 years old and 19th on the tour's money list, made a 9-foot birdie putt on her final hole to cap a 3-under 68 and join the four-way tie for the lead in the US$1.25 million event.

She has other things on her mind as she finishes her ninth event as a professional. Creamer graduates from high school next Thursday in Florida.

"I think about it a lot on the course," she said. "I am looking forward to next week and hopefully I can pull off a win for that. That would be fun but there's a lot of golf left."

Creamer, who finished second at the ShopRite Classic last year as an amateur, has two top-10 finishes this year. She won 11 amateur tournaments.

"I know what it takes to win events," she said. "It's all about experience."

Kim Joo-mi, who is 49th on the money list, had a 65 to match the low round of the tournament as she broke 70 for the first time on tour. Six of her seven birdies were from 8 feet or less.

The 20-year-old native of South Korea has three international victories to her credit and she is coming off her best finish in eight starts this year, a tie for 16th last week at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championships.

Christina Kim had a second-round 72 to not only make the cut for the first time in three appearances in this event but to hold a share of the lead.

She was one of the players most affected by Friday's raw conditions. It was overcast and in the 10s C for the morning starters and it was just a few degrees warmer for those who played in the afternoon. There were plenty of wool ski hats and ear warmers, and some of the gloves were of the non-golf variety.

"For me, the more layers I wear, the more difficult it is for me to swing. I have to swing around my body enough as it is," said Christina Kim, a California native known for her cheery attitude, bright outfits and Kangol hat. "Considering how dreary the day itself was, I think that I was pretty happy and pretty festive."

Park's second career victory came here and that had something to do with her playing through an injury.

"I have tendinitis in the [left] wrist and I withdrew from the tournament last week and my mom wanted me to go home instead of playing here," she said. "But because I like this golf course and have a good memory here, I came."

Her time on the range has been limited by the injury but she had six birdies on Friday, including holing a bunker shot on the par-3 16th, a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th and two tap-ins on par-4s.

"It was just kind of a lucky day," said Park, who has a doctor's appointment early next week.

Four golfers, including two former winners of this tournament, were tied for fifth at 3-under 139.

Michele Redman, who won here in 1997, had a 67, while Hee-Won Han, the 2003 champion, had a 72. Miriam Nagl (72) and Siew-Ai Lim (73) were also two strokes behind the leaders.

Cristie Kerr, second on the money list and the only player from the top 10 in the field, had a second straight 72.

Defending champion Sherri Steinhauer, who also won here in 1999, had a 72 and was at 146. Beth Daniel, the only other former champion in the field (1994) had a 77 and missed the cut by two strokes.

Despite vision problems, Kenny Perry is so comfortable playing at the Colonial that he's still in the lead by three strokes with a tournament-record score after two rounds on Friday.

Perry, who has difficulty reading greens or seeing clearly from long distances and shady spots, shot a bogey-free 7-under 63 for his best round of the year, moving to 12-under 128. That is the 36-hole scoring record at Colonial, where Perry also holds the overall scoring record of 19 under for his 2003 victory.

D.J. Trahan (67) and Ted Purdy (65), whose first U.S. PGA Tour victory was last week at the Byron Nelson Championship, were tied for second at 9 under. Kirk Triplett was another stroke back in fourth after his second straight 66.

First-round leader Patrick Sheehan was 10 strokes worse on Friday, a 72 following a 62 that gave him a two-stroke lead. Sheehan, who like Trahan hasn't won on the tour, goes into the weekend six strokes back.

After starting with birdies on his first two holes, Perry wrapped up a front-side 31 by hitting out of a fairway bunker to set up a 14-foot birdie putt at the 408-yard ninth.

His 21-foot putt skimmed just past the hole at No. 10, then he saved pars with short putts after blasting out of a greenside bunker at No. 12 and putting from the fringe at the 171-yard 13th.

Perry won at Bay Hill in March, then missed two cuts before finishing better than 29th just once the last three tournaments. His opening 65 at the Colonial was his best round of the year, until Friday.

His Colonial win in 2003 was overshadowed by Annika Sorenstam being the first woman to play on the US PGA Tour in 58 years.

Perry was second at Hogan's Alley the year before, and last May finished 12th as the defending champion.

Trahan knew the smart move off the No. 9 tee was to hit a 3-wood. The aggressive play paid off, as he stuck a driver in the middle of the fairway past the bordering bunkers before a pitch shot that set up a 6-foot birdie.

"I'm a feel player," he said. "The swing felt good. Had I stood on the tee and not felt it, I wouldn't have hit the driver. But I set a pretty strong and aggressive game plan and I stuck to it."

That wrapped up a front-side showing of three birdies and three bogeys for the US PGA Tour rookie, who added three more birdies for a 67.

Greg Norman withdrew from the Senior US PGA Championship on Friday, postponing his debut on the 50-and-over circuit while he recovers from back surgery.

Norman had back surgery on March 22 and planned to return for the Senior US PGA, which will be held next week at Laurel Valley Golf Club outside Pittsburgh.

Norman said his recovery is ahead of schedule, and he expects to return to competition at the end of June.