Sorenstam struggles at her LPGA tournament

[May 30, 2008]  MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) -- One LPGA Hall of Famer rose to the challenge at the Ginn Tribute. And, no, it wasn't the tournament's namesake host.

Karrie Webb had five birdies and an eagle for a 65 to share the first-round lead with In-Kyung Kim on Thursday.

Annika Sorenstam, whose first name is on everything from programs to tickets to caps at RiverTowne Country Club, was seven shots behind and tied for 60th.

"It was a little bit of a roller-coaster ride," Sorenstam said.

Sorenstam opened with a bogey. She did have a a stretch of three birdies over four holes. The one she didn't birdie, though, was a disastrous triple-bogey seven on the fifth hole that knocked back any potential charge from the Swedish star.

She steadied herself with two birdies and few mistakes her last eight holes to end at even par. "I need some low scores the next few days," Sorenstam said. "But I saved what could have been a tough day."

There was little difficulty for Webb, Sorenstam's one-time rival for the top who has not won an LPGA Tour event since 2006.

"I've been swinging it quite nicely for the majority of the year, and just not getting the most out of it," Webb said.

Webb blasted out of a greenside bunker and into the cup on the third hole for her eagle 3. She stayed sharp the rest of the way.

Webb rolled in an uphill, 35-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole to tie for the lead. She moved in front a hole later, chipping to 4 feet on the par-5 11th for another birdie.

Webb nearly made it three in row on the 12th, but her 15-footer rolled completely around the cup and out. Webb began pumping her fist in celebration, stopping immediately when the ball popped out. She turned and grinned back at her caddie as she walked back to her bag.

Webb followed with birdie putts of 15 feet or less on the next three holes but could not convert on any. She closed strongly, though, knocking a 5-iron to five feet for birdie on the difficult par-4 18th hole.

"Even though you could have left some out there, I'm not going to complain too much," Webb said, smiling.

Sorenstam, ranked second in the world, has looked forward to playing strongly at the tournament she's hosted the past two years.

No. 1 Lorena Ochoa withdrew earlier this week to be with her sick uncle in Mexico, leaving Sorenstam as the marquee attraction.

Sorenstam was injured a year ago, and she returned to the tour for her event after spending nearly two months away to heal. She finished tied for 36th.

A year later, Sorenstam came in with three tour victories, her old-school precision and a sense of urgency after announcing earlier in May she'd step away from competitive golf after this season.

But Sorenstam couldn't get much going at RiverTowne.

"I wish it would've been a little lower, but sometimes you can't do anything about it," she said.

Kim, a second-year pro from South Korea, had four birdies in five holes to move into contention. She tied Webb with a birdie on the par-5 16th hole -- Kim's eighth birdie of the round -- after putting her wedge to 10 feet.

"I had a lot of opportunities and I think I made the most of them," she said.

[Associated Press; By PETE IACOBELLI]

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