Williamsburg, Va. – There were so many players searching for one thing or another Saturday during the LPGA’s Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill Resort that one couldn’t help but suspect Leonard Nimoy would pop up at any second.
Annika Sorenstam, after an uncharacteristically sour opening round, was hoping to move back into position to win a record sixth consecutive tournament. Tournament leader Cristie Kerr, a winner on four different occasions – but never with Sorenstam in the field – wanted to put enough distance between her and the world’s No. 1 player to breathe a little easier at the end of the day.
And Jill McGill, the former Cherry Creek star hoping to ensure a place in next month’s U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills Country Club, was looking to continue a recent stretch of fine play.
In most respects, those goals were accomplished during a second round that was pushed back after a huge rainstorm Friday. Sorenstam, whose first- round 5-over-par 76 put her in danger of missing the cut, shot even par over her first nine holes. The Swede birdied four holes coming home to shoot a 67; the afternoon’s best round moved Sorenstam from a tie for 107th to a tie for 27th.
Kerr, meanwhile, got as low as 8-under (5-under for the day), but bogeyed two of her final five holes to finish with a second consecutive 68 and a total of 136 on the 6,306-yard, par-71 course. While there were a host of players between first and 27th, including veteran Michele Redman (69) two shots back in second place, and McGill (2-under) in a tie for sixth, most of the talk centered around whether Kerr would be able to hold off Sorenstam today in what tournament officials hope will be a 36-hole finale.
“It would have been great to get on the leaderboard and tell them I am still here,” said Sorenstam, who has come from behind in the final round in 19 of her 59 career wins, including two of her three triumphs this season. “I think they know I am here, I just don’t know how badly they know I’m here.”
They know. In recent weeks, a number of players have quietly expressed angst at having to constantly answer questions about Sorenstam and her quest to break Nancy Lopez’s 1978 record for consecutive wins.
When the subject was broached with the ever-intense Kerr on Saturday, she, too, bristled.
“It’s not like I’ve never beaten her in a tournament before,” Kerr said, referring to being ahead of Sorenstam at the end of an event. “But no one ever remembers when she finishes fifth or sixth.”
McGill, who finished in a tie for 11th last week in Nashville, Tenn., stood at 46th on the money list entering play this week. The top 35 through May automatically qualify for the Open.
“I have a lot of stress and anxiety over Cherry Hills,” McGill admitted after shooting a 1-over 72. “If I play my way in, great; if I don’t, I’ll go to the qualifier.
“I kind of stymied myself on 18. I would have loved to be in the last group, but that’s OK. It will be interesting; it’s going to be a marathon out there.”
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or at acotton@denverpost.com.
