RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- World No. 1 Annika Sorenstam shot 75 Thursday in the first round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship. And she wasnt happy about it. And she wasnt happy that she wasnt happy about it.
Sorenstam needed 31 putts on a day when the best score was Shi Hyun Ahns four-under 68.
Im not going to be this way the rest of the week, Sorenstam said after her round. Im going to be positive the rest of the week.
Its called an attitude adjustment.
Sorenstam said she struggled with, among other things, added length to the golf course, a new wedge and windy conditions.
She actually birdied her third hole of the day (No. 12) but followed that with a double bogey on 13 and a bogey on 14. Three more bogeys were not offset by two more birdies.
PRIME TIME
One of the loudest roars of the day erupted on the par 5 18th hole when Karrie Webb, playing in the company of Lorena Ochoa, almost holed her wedge for eagle.
Webb famously holed a wedge of similar distance on the 72d hole here last year to help create a playoff with Ochoa that Webb eventually won. On that occasion Webb and Ochoa were in different groups at the start of the day.
I told her, You almost made it in front of me this time, Ochoa said afterward.
Webb finished with a 70 which was one more than Ochoa who made a seven foot birdie putt of her own on the last for 69. This after Ochoa had raced off to a front nine 32 with birdies on the first, second, seventh and ninth holes. Last year Ochoa opened here with a 62.
Im feeling good, Ochoa said. Im seeing good things.
And, she says, shes relaxed despite the pressure of knowing she will pass Sorenstam at the top of the world rankings Sunday if she wins the championship.
Im really comfortable, Ochoa said. And very calm. It was like playing with my friends back home.
HEY, HEY PAULA
Playing in the same pairing with Sorenstam was Paula Creamer. Creamers putting was even spottier than Sorenstams She needed 32 strokes on the shortest grass.
I kind of got confused out there, Creamer said. My putting comes and it goes.
As Tiger Woods says, welcome to golf.
Creamer was not confused about Ochoas opportunity to displace Sorenstam at the top of the world rankings if she wins this week. Thats good for me to know, she said. If she can do it, theres no reason why I cant.
OTHERS OF NOTE
Natalie Gulbis, who missed the cut last week at the Safeway International, opened with a 77 married by eight missed fairways. . . . . Japanese sensation Ai Miyazato was less than sensational, needing 31 putts en route to 76. . . . . Pat Hurst, who lost in a playoff in the U.S. Womens Open last year to Annika Sorenstam, was three back of the lead with a 71 that featured two birdies and one bogey. . . . Janice Moodie, making a comeback after giving birth to a son last year, skied to an 83 that included seven bogeys and two doubles.
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