Rancho Mirage, Calif. – The overarching theme of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the LPGA’s first major, was the brewing battle between Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer. Creamer, a poised yet highly competitive 19-year-old, desperately wants to overtake Sorenstam, winner of nine major championships, as the world’s best player.
That backdrop, along with someone’s sense of drama – and television ratings – made the prospects Thursday at Mission Hills Country Club all the more delicious. Paired together, Sorenstam and Creamer warily eyeballed each other like the Sharks and Jets mapping out their turf.
However, as is so often the case, the golf gods were reading an entirely different script.
In this version, the fickle fates smiled upon Lorena Ochoa, who posted one of the best rounds in major championship history, a sensational 10-under 62.
Ochoa tied the mark for the lowest score in major championship history, set by Finland’s Minea Blomqvist during the 2004 British Open. There have been 22 major championship rounds of 63 on the PGA Tour, most recently by Thomas Bjorn in the 2005 PGA Championship.
During the day, Ochoa said, “I thought to myself, ‘This is a good start.’ I just didn’t think it was going to be this good.”
The 2003 rookie of the year, Ochoa has won three times on tour but of late has become more renowned for some spectacular collapses, such as chunking her tee shot into the water on the 72nd hole at last summer’s U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club, likely costing her a win in the game’s biggest tournament.
On Thursday however, there were no blowups or hiccups.
“I actually had to look at the scoreboard twice, I didn’t know if she was at 10-under or if she was just playing the 10th hole,” said Sorenstam, who finished at 1-under-71.
Ochoa was so dominant that, according to Creamer (-3), “I couldn’t look at the scoreboard; I couldn’t dwell on the idea of being seven shots back.”
Also relegated to the back burner was phenom Michelle Wie. Playing in her first major as a pro, the 16-year-old Hawaiian shot a 6-under 66 that, on any other day, would have sparked headlines. As it was, the score was only good enough for second place.
Of course, there are still three days remaining in the tournament. But while Sorenstam, Creamer, Wie and the rest of the field may be hoping Ochoa’s recent foibles strike again, the current leader likes her chances.
“There is going to be a time when (a tournament) comes my way,” Ochoa said. “Most of the time in those situations I’m coming from behind, so I was just happy to be close.
“I’ve been frustrated a couple of times when I wanted to get that trophy; (now) I think I’m more prepared.”
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or at acotton@denverpost.com.
