Sun, Aug 01, 2004 page22

• Sorenstam stalks leader

  PRO GOLF TOUR Annika Sorenstam ended the second round at the Women's British Open four strokes behind leader Karen Stupples, who shot a bogey-free 2-under 70

  • AP
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  Annika Sorenstam made three birdies on the front nine and moved within two strokes of the lead before everything went wrong off the tee at the Women's British Open.

  "I missed fairways, I missed greens," Sorenstam said Friday after her 1-under 71 left her in a fifth-place tie, four strokes behind leader Karen Stupples. "Luckily I chipped really well. I made a good bunker shot at the last and made some good putts. But it was the long game, I couldn't keep it in play."

  

  Natalie Gulbis of the US during the Women's British Open at Sunningdale Golf Club, near London, Friday. Karen Stupples leads the tournament with a 9-under 135.

  PHOTO: REUTERS

  Stupples had another bogey-free round, this time a 2-under 70 that moved her to 9-under 135. Beth Daniel (69) and South Korea's Jeong Jang (68) and Seol-An Jeon (69) are tied for second at 6-under 138.

  

  Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the 14th hole at the Buick Open at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan, Friday.

  PHOTO: AP

  With the sun shining on Sunningdale's Old Course and little wind to trouble the early starters, Stupples fired a 7-wood to the back of the green at the first and made a two-putt birdie. She rolled in a "perfect" 40-foot birdie putt at No. 17 after coming up short with her second shot.

  She believes she should have been further ahead of the field.

  "It was a bit frustrating at times because I had a couple of opportunities, one on 9 and one on 10, to make birdie," Stupples said. "I felt like I hit really good putts, but they just didn't go in the hole.

  "The one on 10 was like a dagger to my heart because it totally did a horseshoe around the hole."

  Sorenstam birdied the first two holes, both easy par 5s, and was closing in on Stupples.

  "I got off to a good start ... and I felt pretty good about everything," Sorenstam said. "And then I made the turn and I didn't feel so good any more. I was just scrambling on the back nine really. So it was a bit like a long day.

  "I still shot under par, so I have to look on the bright side. I lost a little ground but then again I'm right there. There's two more days. It's not the end of the world by any means."

  Sorenstam, the defending champion, said she was disturbed on the 12th tee by a camera clicking on her backswing, although an official on the course said the noise came from a scoreboard behind the photographers near the 11th green.

  She admitted, however, that her drive was not a good one anyway.

  ``No, it was a bad shot and after that I had to deal with it,'' the Swede said. ``I ended up in some heather, which was very thick, and I had to play for bogey on that hole. I missed my tee shot on 14 and put myself in the bunker,'' she said. ``That's a par 5 where you're really looking for birdie and I walk away with bogey, so you kind of lose a shot and a half on that hole.''

  Of the chasing pack, Daniel and Betsy King raised a flag for the veterans. Jang and Jeon maintained impressive performances by South Koreans on the course. At Sunningdale three years ago, Se Ri Pak won the British Open title, and Kim Mi-hyun placed second.

  Daniel, a 25-year tour veteran whose only major in 33 tournament victories came at the LPGA Championship in 1990, made four birdies in her 69. She did have a three-putt bogey at the fifth.

  Buick Open

  AP, Grand Blanc, Michigan

  John Daly walked to the clubhouse with a diet cola can in one hand, a trophy in the other and a smile on his chubby face.

  After matching his best round of the year with an 8-under 64 Friday, Daly was presented with a replica trophy earned from his victory at the Buick Invitational six months ago.

  When tournament officials offered to ship it to him, the winner of just five PGA Tour events -- including two majors -- politely declined.

  "I haven't seen too many of these. We'll just put it in the bus," Daly said, referring to his luxury motor home.

  Daly is just one of the familiar names on the leaderboard at the Buick Open.

  Vijay Singh of Fiji shared the second-round lead with Jim Furyk and Billy Andrade at 11 under.

  Daly was tied with three others at 10 under, one stroke behind the leaders. Tiger Woods had a 4-under 68 and was among four others another shot back.

  Despite playing eight par-5 holes at only 1 under during the tournament, Woods has been pleased with his play and liked where he started the third round.

  "I'm right there," Woods said.

  The cut was 4 under, matching the low for the season on the PGA Tour and the lowest in Buick Open history.

  "There are some good names, but no matter who is on the board, you're going to have to make a bunch of birdies," Woods said. "It's just the nature of this golf course and tournament. You can't go out there and make a bunch of pars."

  Unlike majors, where conservative and solid play is rewarded, Warwick Hills forces players to be aggressive. Stewart Cink, who shot a 65 to join Daly in fourth place, said "it's dart-throwing golf."

  Singh expects the weekend to be wild.

  "It's going to be a shootout," he said.

  Singh -- who shot a 70 on Friday after starting the day with a one-stroke lead at 9 under -- was one of the few on the leaderboard unable to take advantage of soggy conditions that made the course even more susceptible to low scores.

  "It was a tough day," he said. "I'm happy to be still leading."

  The highlight of Daly's round was the par-3 17th when his tee shot left him with a 2-foot birdie putt, which the crowd favorite made to draw a roar at the hole known for its rowdy gallery.

  Daly, who has battled alcohol and personal problems, had a 64 at the Nissan Open in February when he finished fourth.

  He missed the cut at both the British Open and the Masters and hasn't had a top-10 finish since April. But the Buick Invitational victory was his first since the 1995 British Open.

  "I needed a round like this to get some confidence," Daly said.

  Furyk, playing in his fourth tournament since having wrist surgery in March, has a legitimate shot at being the first to repeat at the Buick Open since Tony Lema in 1965.

  He had a second-round 67, hitting every fairway for the second straight day, and has been in the 60s in 14 of his last 16 rounds at Warwick Hills.

  Furyk needs his hot streak at the Buick Open to continue.

  "I have to go out there and fire two low numbers," he said.

  The last time Furyk had or shared the second-round lead was at the 2003 US Open, when he was tied with Singh after two days before going on to win his first major.

  Woods pulled within a shot of the leaders with a birdie at No. 14, but followed that with his first bogey of the tournament. He failed to birdie the par-5 16th after a lackluster chip and putt.

  Scandinavian

  AP, Loddekopinge, Sweden

  England's Luke Donald shot a course-record 7-under-par 65 Friday to take a one-shot lead halfway thorough the Scandinavian Masters.

  Donald had a bogey-free round that included seven birdies, breaking the course record by a stroke set by US PGA Tour regular Carl Pettersson of Sweden, who is skipping the event this year.

  "I played very similarly to the way that I did yesterday, I just got more of the putts to roll in for me today," said Donald, who shot a 69 in Thursday's opening round. "I think this course suits my game and the weather and conditions were just perfect today. I would love to win here -- any win is great, and I don't think it would do my Ryder Cup chances any harm."

  Donald had a 36-hole total of 134, 10 under par on the Barseback course that hosted last year's women's Solheim Cup matches won by Europe over the US.

  Wilhelm Schauman, an little-known Swede, was just one stroke behind in second place after a 67. Starting on the 10th tee, Schauman had a inconsistent round that included an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys between the 12th and 17th holes.

  Donald is 14th in the Ryder Cup rankings, from which the top five to qualify for the European team that will defend the trophy at Oakland Hills in Michigan in September.
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