LPGA Kim hitting fairways makes for good start

Annika Sorenstam is playing for the first time in five weeks.
BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) -- Christina Kim shot a 6-under 65 Friday and held a one-stroke lead over Annika Sorenstam and LPGA Tour rookie Shi Hyun Ahn after the first round of the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic.
Kim, coming off a second-place finish at the State Farm Classic, had seven birdies and bogeyed only one hole -- the par-4 11th after coming up short of the green on approach and putting 3 feet past the hole.
"I was really fatigued coming into the round," Kim said. "I thought, 'Just chalk it up and see what you can scrap together.' One of the reasons I played well today, I hit about 13 fairways."
Back in action
Sorenstam, playing for the first time in five weeks, and Ahn were one stroke in front of Reilley Rankin, another tour newcomer. Three golfers were tied at 68.
Defending champion Karrie Webb, who won last year by nine strokes, shot a 3-over 73.
The $1 million, 54-hole Hammons Classic moved this year to Cedar Ridge Country Club in this Tulsa suburb after three years at Tulsa Country Club. The course has gotten raves for its pristine condition and tight fairways.
"The tees were up, so it's a little shorter, but each pin was on a ridge," Sorenstam said. "So, you were either above it or below it. The pins were tricky."
Kim, who finished sixth in the Wachovia LPGA Classic two weeks ago, credited improved approach shots and better putting for her recent surge. The second-year player is looking for her first title.
"My short game has gotten a lot better," Kim said. "I think the word they use is 'practice.' I decided to do some of that with my short game."
Good percentage
Sorenstam, who has started only 13 of 24 LPGA events this year but has four tournament titles, pumped her fist toward the gallery and smiled after making a 35-foot birdie putt on the 13th.
Sorenstam spent the last five weeks either "chilling" in Lake Tahoe, Nev., or cleaning up her Orlando, Fla., home after Hurricane Charley. She had seven birdies and two bogeys.
"I felt rusty," Sorenstam said. "It doesn't seem like it with the score. I'm surprised myself."
She also made birdie putts from 12 feet on 12 and from about 15 feet on 18.
"The greens are that good," Sorenstam said. "That's why we're making putts. They're so smooth and I think I read them well."