LPGA TOUR Mallon has 1-shot lead over Ochoa in Canadian Open

She battled back from a pair of bogeys to shoot 2-under-par 70.
NIAGARA FALLS, Ontario (AP) -- After having everything go her way on the golf course lately, Meg Mallon showed she's also capable of responding to adversity.
Mallon was resilient -- overcoming a shot that struck a tree branch and led to one of her two bogeys -- in a 2-under 70 Friday that kept her in the lead after the second round of the Canadian Women's Open.
Mallon, coming off last week's win at the U.S. Women's Open, was at 9-under 135, a stroke ahead of Lorena Ochoa, who had a second-round 67.
Tied for third
Defending champion Beth Daniel (68), Gloria Park (70), Dawn Coe-Jones (69) and rookie Aree Song (66) were tied for third at 137, a stroke ahead of Nancy Scranton, who had a second-round 69.
Mi Hyun Kim, fifth on the LPGA money list this season, had a 70 and was in a group of five four shots off lead in the $1.3 million event being held at Legends on the Niagara. The cut was 2-over, leaving a field of 81 to compete in the final two rounds.
"It was a good test," Mallon said. "I was just happy that I could develop some sort of rhythm out there with a round that absolutely had no momentum whatsoever."
Mallon won her second U.S. Open Sunday when she closed with a 6-under 65, the best final round by a champion in tournament history.
She carried that momentum north of the border with a bogey-free 65 that gave her a two-stroke lead after the first round before showing signs of fatigue.
Troubles began
Mallon's troubles began on the par-4 12th, her third hole, when her approach shot landed in a front bunker and she two-putted from 15 feet.
The bogey ended her streak at 45 holes at par or better.
Mallon compounded her problems when she bogeyed 13 after hooking her tee shot into the rough.
She then knocked her second shot off a branch of a dead tree, and was fortunate when her ball bounced onto the fairway about 4 yards short of a creek.
Mallon finally settled down, getting her first birdie on 17 with an 18-foot putt. She added three more on her back nine, capped by a 10-footer on No. 8.
It didn't help Mallon that her group was down to a twosome when Soo-Yun Kang withdrew because of an injury before the round began. The lack of a third player led to several long waits on the fairway for Mallon and Laura Diaz.
"It was painful," Mallon said. "The hardest part of the whole day was just keeping concentration."
Mallon is 19 under over her last four rounds of competition.