SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, Ariz. - Annika Sorenstam was in the lead in her first LPGA Tour start of the year, exhibiting the skills that have made her the best female golfer in the world.
And 14-year-old Michelle Wie's 5-under 67 on Friday showed why so many believe she is the heir apparent.
Sorenstam shot a methodical 7-under 65 in the second round to take a one-stroke lead halfway through the Safeway International. She was at 12-under 132, just ahead of Cristie Kerr, who matched her career best with 9-under 63.
"It could have been lower," Kerr said. "I had a couple of putts slip out."
Defending champion Se Ri Pak (68) was three back at 9-under 135. First-round leader Kim Saiki shot 73 to drop five shots back.
"I'm playing really good," said Sorenstam, the ANZ Masters winner three weeks ago in Australia in her only other tournament of the year. "I'm playing smart and giving myself good opportunities."
But the buzz through the big galleries was about Wie, the 6-foot teen sensation who was seven back at 5-under 139. She had eight birdies and three bogeys at Superstition Mountain Golf club 50 miles east of Phoenix.
"I don't think I hit my shots as good as I did yesterday," Wie said, "but my putting definitely was a lot better. Those bogeys I made were pretty stupid. I felt really bad about those, but I made a lot of birdies."
She reeled off birdies on holes six through nine and reached 6 under through 14 holes, but she made bogey on the 310-yard 15th and 412-yard 16th.
Wie reached the green in two shots twice on par-5 holes. On the 552-yard 13th she drove it about 320 yards off the tee, easily made the green on her next shot and barely missed the 12-foot eagle putt. On the 508-yard 18th she made the green in two and again almost canned the eagle putt.
This is the first of six LPGA events Wie plans to enter this season. She made the cut in six of seven LPGA events last year and came within a shot of making the cut in the PGA Tour's Sony Open in January.
It's the first time Wie's father, B.J., hasn't been her caddie in an LPGA event. "It's actually kind of nice," Wie said, with her dad laughing in the back of the room. "There's a lot less arguing."
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Tom Purtzer shot 11-under 60 for a share of the tour record and a four-stroke lead after the first round of the Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, Calif.
Purtzer, 52, became the fifth to shoot 60 on the tour, joining Isao Aoki (1997), Walter Morgan ('02), Bruce Fleisher ('02) and Jim Thorpe ('03).
"I wasn't really expecting much," Purtzer said. "I've been having trouble driving the ball, and you've got to hit it in the fairway here. Before today I didn't think this course set up for me very well. I've never been a good wedge player or putter."
Joe Inman was second at 64, Morris Hatalsky opened with 65 and Fuzzy Zoeller, Keith Fergus John Bland and David Eger were six back at 66. Jack Nicklaus shot 71, matching Hale Irwin, Lee Trevino and defending champion Rodger Davis.
EUROPEAN PGA: Mardan Mamat shot 4-under 68 to take the overnight lead by one at the Caltex Masters in his native Singapore.
Because the first round was delayed by rain, 12 golfers didn't complete the second round and have to finish today before the third round.
Eddie Lee, who led by three strokes after completing his rain-delayed first round early Friday, shot 72 to fall into a tie for second. Also a stroke back of Mardan's 9-under total of 135 were Greg Hanrahan (68), Jyoti Randhawa (64), Damien McGrane (68) and Barry Lane (65).
Randhawa birdied eight holes at Laguna National Golf and Country Club to move up after shooting par in the first round. He said he owed his second-round performance to his yoga instructor, who traveled with him from India to help him prepare physically and mentally.
"My yoga guru ... gave me a talk and told me to play freely, to free my mind and just be aware of what I'm doing," Randhawa said.
