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 Keep playing, and everyone has a chance to win $1 million.
Kim was doing just that Thursday at Trump International, making three birdies, no bogeys and holing a 25-foot eagle putt on the 15th hole that eventually put her atop the leaderboard with Mi Hyun Kim.
Ultimately, a share of the lead doesn't matter on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. But it was enough to let the mind wander about what it would mean to walk away with $1 million.
"It's definitely in your mind," Kim said. "I probably thought about it for 13 holes. Especially if you're waiting on the group in front of you. You're like,
'Boy, I could buy three Rolls Royces' or something like that. Just something to help pass the time. But it's just like winning the lottery. My odds are better because there's only 32 players, but the odds are sort of slim."
That depends on the perspective, and perspective is hard to find in this format.
Lorena Ochoa was leading the tournament at 6 under until she got to the par-3 17th, deposited two balls into the water and took a quadruple bogey to tumble down the leaderboard. It was a shocking finish, but it didn't really matter. She shot 70, leaving her three shots out of the lead, but five shots better than the projected cut line.
And on Saturday, the 16 players start over.
"I was worried I was going to run out of balls," Ochoa said, and even though it was a joke, it was probably her only concern.
Juli Inkster, at 47 trying to become the oldest winner in LPGA Tour history, and Paula Creamer were at 68. Another shot back of U.S. Women's Open champion Cristie Kerr and Catriona Matthew.
"You want to shoot low today to leave yourself a cushion," Kerr said. "You just want to maintain a stress-free mentality for Friday."
Stress might belong to Annika Sorenstam, needing a victory this week to avoid her first winless season since she was a rookie in 1994. She played decently enough, but three balls in the water, all leading only to a bogey, sent her to a 74 and put her in a tie for 14th.
The LPGA promotes on its brochure that "Every Shot Counts," but that's not really true because the scores will be wiped out after the second and third rounds. But it sure made sense to Reilley Rankin.
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She was atop the leaderboard at 3 under playing the 12th hole when calamity struck. First it was a tee shot into the woods, then an escape across the fairway, a shot into the bunker, a skulled shot across the green and so deep into the woods she never found it. When she finally got on the green and took two putts, she had a 10.
The shaken Rankin followed with consecutive bogeys and wound up a 76, putting her in a tie for 20th.
"I got a little flustered after the hole, but I did my best," Rankin said. "If I can go out and do the same thing as today and not go into the Twilight Zone, I'll be fine."
Ochoa rarely has looked so at ease after a quadruple bogey on the 17th hole. It's only Thursday, and she could recover in ample time even if this were a standard stroke-play event. But he also knows that the first step is simple being among the top 16 players.
"I'm really going to put that behind me," she said. "Of course, you want to be at the top because the better you play, the more comfortable you get with this course and the conditions. I'm trying to shoot low. But I'm happy where I am."
Not so happy was Laura Davies, who shot a 79, and Karrie Webb, who shot 42 on the back for a 76.
Inkster, who had to endure a playoff to qualify for the weekend last year, kept bogeys off her card in a solid round of 68. It wasn't brilliant, but it was exactly what she needed.
"I played very conservative on a lot of the holes because you just don't want to shoot yourself in the foot on the first day," she said.
Sorenstam nearly did just that. Consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th holes returned her to even par, but she stumbled down the stretch by hitting into the water on the par-5 15th for a bogey, and on the 17th for a bogey, and she dropped a shot on the last hole.
The goal Friday is to get a tee time on Saturday.
"I'm just going to play well and avoid the water," Sorenstam said. "Take three less and I'm 1-under par. It's just very, very close."
If she makes the cut, she essentially will be in a 16-way tie for the lead going into the weekend.
And all 16 can start thinking about the $1 million.
[Associated Press; By DOUG FERGUSON]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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