Saturation coverage at Squaw Creek

Wet conditions forced a one-hour delay of the event's start today.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
VIENNA -- On any other year of the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic, Annika Sorenstam, the No. 1 female golfer in the world, would have been the main topic for today's opening round at Squaw Creek Country Club.
But even Soren- stam, who is playing in her first Giant Eagle event since 1998, has to take a back seat to Mother Nature.
Rain and more rain has pelted the Squaw Creek layout, turning it into a swamp Thursday morning and forcing cancellation of the second day of the Cellular One Pro-Am Tournament and bringing to a halt all activities at the course.
Officials today pushed back the starting time for the opening round by one hour to 8:30 a.m and play did get under way shortly thereafter.
Cindy Rarick was the early leader, at 3-under par through nine holes. Tied for second at 2-under was the 1990 Phar Mor at Youngstown champion, Penny Hammel, Allison Finney and Patti Rizzo. None of those players had finished their rounds, either.
Sorenstam, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, is playing in this tournament for only the second time.
She comes into the event having won back-to-back tournaments in Naperville, Ill., and Rockland, Del., after her well-publicized effort at the PGA Colonial Invitational, where she was the first female professional in 58 years to play in a men's PGA event.
Sorenstam missed the cut in that tournament but shot impressive rounds of 71 and 74 and proved to a lot of people that she could compete on the same level with men.
The conditions today at Squaw Creek will probably favor Sorenstam, who didn't arrive in the area until last night. She has won the past two weeks in conditions similar to what she will be playing in today. Sorenstam was scheduled to tee off today at 12:30 p.m. from the No. 10 tee at Squaw Creek.
The forecast
LPGA staff meteorologist Andy Pearman indicated Thursday that the weekend forecast didn't look much better for the tournament.
"We're expected to get some early rain [today], and then scattered showers on Saturday," he said. "By Sunday things will start to look better with part clouds and part sun predicted."
A total of 144 professionals are scheduled to begin play today with players going off both the No. 1 and No. 10 tees.
Squaw Creek Country Club has been known to have its problems with the weather in the past. In 1990, the first year for the tournament when it was the Phar-Mor in Youngstown, the final round had to be completed Monday because of conditions.
In 1992, the tournament was hit by a tornado scare, which dumped a lot of rain on the course and caused several delays.
The tournament is not being televised this season, and tickets are still available at the gate each day.