Sorenstam leads with birdie run |
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/06/02 11:07 Shanghai Daily |
Annika Sorenstam, angry with herself after three-putt bogeys on consecutive holes, birdied the last five holes to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Kellogg-Keebler Classic at Aurora, Illinois. "I told my caddie, 'I've had enough. I'm playing great, I've had a lot of great shots. Let's get this turned around. There's five more holes, let's just go get five birdies'," Sorenstam said on Saturday. "And that's what happened." She finished with a 6-under 66, the second-best round of the day, giving her a two-day score of 16-under 128. Mhairi McKay had nine birdies on her way to a 64 and is at 130. Rosie Jones, who began the day tied with Sorenstam, shot a 71 and is five shots off the lead. And the leaders didn't have it as bad as the early groups. Sorenstam, Jones and McKay were in the last two groups, and the rain had stopped by the time they went off. The wind died down during their rounds, and the sun actually came out by the end of the day. "If not, we might have been finishing in the dark," Sorenstam said. But Sorenstam's problem wasn't the conditions. Her historic trip to Colonial was cut short last weekend because she didn't putt well, and she didn't have her touch again on Saturday. She missed four birdie chances on the front nine when the ball scooted past or stopped short of the hole, including twice when it stopped within six inches of the hole. And it got really ugly on the back nine. On the par-3 12th, Sorenstam's birdie putt slid by the hole and ran about 3 feet back. She just missed the par putt, settling for a bogey. On the par-4 13th, Sorenstam left a long birdie putt far short and then missed a 4-footer for par. That dropped her a stroke behind Jones and McKay, and she was clearly disgusted with herself as she watched the ball slide by the cup. "I was extremely mad," she said, smiling. "That happens. It's golf. It got me fired up. Sometimes you've got to turn it around, get mad at yourself and turn it into a positive." That she did. She rolled a 35-footer within inches of the cup and then tapped in for a birdie on the par-5 14th. She made 7-foot putts on the next two holes, and a 6-footer on the par-3 17th. With the crowd already murmuring about her score as she came up the 18th fairway, she closed with a spectacular finish. From 89 yards out, she hit a sand wedge that hit the green with a thud and stuck, 5 feet from the pin. The crowd hooted and hollered. Sorenstam wore a wide grin as she came to the green, waving to the crowd of about 2,000. In Dublin, Ohio, despite cold, whipping winds and the toughest weekend conditions at Muirfield Village in almost 20 years, Kenny Perry made only one bogey in a round of 2-under 70 on Saturday and led Lee Janzen by two shots going into the final round. Perry, coming off a victory at Colonial with a record score, again ended a solid round with a birdie on the 18th. His approach ran up the ridge, then trickled down the slope to 8 feet. He was at 13-under 203. Tiger Woods, meanwhile, struggled with his swing. He hit a tee shot out of bounds for triple bogey and played the front nine in 42. The world's best golfer had to play the final four holes in 2 under to shoot 76. He wound up 11 shots behind the leader - just like at Muirfield last summer - with a slim or no chance of catching up. |
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