Choi overcomes tough conditions for Samsung lead

10/4/2008

Na Yeon Choi of South Korea survived the changing wind and decreasing temperatures along the Pacific Ocean.

It took Ochoa all of three holes to find her touch Friday, then a few tough ones to lose the lead. Even her typically reliable long game deserted her on the back nine.

Early on, it seemed like an ideal day for golf on the 6,450-yard Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links, until the wind got strong. On
Thursday, opening rounds were delayed for 26 minutes by dense fog. Rain was in forecast for Northern California overnight.

Ochoa, among several players two strokes back to start the day, shot a 32 over the front nine but had several tough holes down the stretch, most notably the double-bogeys on 9 and 13.

Five-time champion Annika Sorenstam, paired with Ochoa for the second straight day during the Swedish Hall of Famer's final Samsung, struggled mightily herself. She shot a 77 to drop to 2-over 146. Making things worse, she got stung by a wasp between the pinkie and ring finger on her right hand while on the second tee.

Creamer, meanwhile, had four bogeys on the back nine including three straight from 15-17 before finishing strong with a birdie on 18.

Leaderboard – Round 2:

1. Na Yeon Choi                    69 71 140 - 4
2. Lorena Ochoa                    69 73 142 - 2
    Song-Hee Kim                   69 73 142 - 2
    Angela Stanford                 69 73 142 - 2
    Paula Creamer                  68 74 142 - 2
6. Katherine Hull                    70 73 143 - 1
    Yani Tseng                        69 74 143 - 1
    Ji-Yai Shin                         67 76 143 - 1
9. Seon Hwa Lee                    75 69 144   E
    Suzann Pettersen               74 70 144   E

Source: AP, LPGA Tour