Golf Roundup

LPGA
PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Shi Hyun Ahn bested the swirling winds and opened with a 7-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over rookie Brittany Lang in the Rochester LPGA. "I think I can say I'm a good player against the wind," the 21-year-old South Korean said of her bogey-free round at the tricky, tree-lined Locust Hill course. But the key, she said, was her finely tuned approach shots -- the ability "to put balls right next to the pin." Lang, 19, a runner-up at the U.S. Women's Open a year ago, twice chipped in from off the green but picked up two bogeys along with eight birdies. Soo Young Moon was third with a 67, one better than Korean compatriot Gloria Park. Defending champion Lorena Ochoa, who comes in with two victories and five second-place finishes, carded a 70. Ochoa tops the money list with $1,155,454, almost $35,000 more than resurgent Karrie Webb of Australia, who shot 74. "I didn't think it was supposed to be this windy," Ochoa said. "On days like this, you're just happy to be in the red numbers." The $1.8 million tournament is sponsored by Wegmans, a grocery store chain. Ahn picked up her only LPGA title, the CJ Nine Bridges Classic, as a rookie in 2003 and was rookie of the year in 2004. Her best finish in 2006 is a tie for fifth at this month's McDonald's LPGA Championship. "I could have done better at McDonald's but I came in short," she said via a translator. "Now I'm getting better, better confidence in shots." Starting on the back nine, she sank a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 12 and picked up two more birdies with 4-foot putts on Nos. 16 and 17. She birdied the first three holes after the turn, knocking in a 15-footer on No. 3, then chipped to 12 feet for her final birdie on No. 8. Lang, a star player at Duke, burst to prominence as an amateur last June when she and fellow teenager Morgan Pressel each grabbed a share of the lead during the Women's Open at Cherry Hills. They finished tied for second behind Birdie Kim. She turned pro last July and has five top-20 finishes this year, her best a tie for eighth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She picked up three consecutive birdies starting at No. 15, then bogeyed No. 2 after her drive hit a spectator and landed in deep rough. She followed up with two birdies by chipping in from 15 yards on No. 3, then from 25 yards on No. 4. "My short game was just on today -- the two chip-ins helped and I made a lot of putts," Lang said. "Probably from 120 yards in was the best part of my game." Lang, the fifth longest hitter on tour with an average drive of 273.3 yards, hit most fairways even as the wind stiffened in the afternoon. "It's not that difficult of a course, it's just really tight," she said. "With the wind swirling, it makes it so hard." Lang is coming off a three-week layoff, one week of it unintentional. She was disqualified at the McDonald's LPGA Championship after committing a rookie error -- failing to show up at the pre-tournament pro-am.
PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Shi Hyun Ahn bested the swirling winds and opened with a 7-under-par 65 to take a one-stroke lead over rookie Brittany Lang in the Rochester LPGA. "I think I can say I'm a good player against the wind," the 21-year-old South Korean said of her bogey-free round at the tricky, tree-lined Locust Hill course. But the key, she said, was her finely tuned approach shots -- the ability "to put balls right next to the pin." Lang, 19, a runner-up at the U.S. Women's Open a year ago, twice chipped in from off the green but picked up two bogeys along with eight birdies. Soo Young Moon was third with a 67, one better than Korean compatriot Gloria Park. Defending champion Lorena Ochoa, who comes in with two victories and five second-place finishes, carded a 70. Ochoa tops the money list with $1,155,454, almost $35,000 more than resurgent Karrie Webb of Australia, who shot 74. "I didn't think it was supposed to be this windy," Ochoa said. "On days like this, you're just happy to be in the red numbers." The $1.8 million tournament is sponsored by Wegmans, a grocery store chain. Ahn picked up her only LPGA title, the CJ Nine Bridges Classic, as a rookie in 2003 and was rookie of the year in 2004. Her best finish in 2006 is a tie for fifth at this month's McDonald's LPGA Championship. "I could have done better at McDonald's but I came in short," she said via a translator. "Now I'm getting better, better confidence in shots." Starting on the back nine, she sank a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 12 and picked up two more birdies with 4-foot putts on Nos. 16 and 17. She birdied the first three holes after the turn, knocking in a 15-footer on No. 3, then chipped to 12 feet for her final birdie on No. 8. Lang, a star player at Duke, burst to prominence as an amateur last June when she and fellow teenager Morgan Pressel each grabbed a share of the lead during the Women's Open at Cherry Hills. They finished tied for second behind Birdie Kim. She turned pro last July and has five top-20 finishes this year, her best a tie for eighth at the Kraft Nabisco Championship. She picked up three consecutive birdies starting at No. 15, then bogeyed No. 2 after her drive hit a spectator and landed in deep rough. She followed up with two birdies by chipping in from 15 yards on No. 3, then from 25 yards on No. 4. "My short game was just on today -- the two chip-ins helped and I made a lot of putts," Lang said. "Probably from 120 yards in was the best part of my game." Lang, the fifth longest hitter on tour with an average drive of 273.3 yards, hit most fairways even as the wind stiffened in the afternoon. "It's not that difficult of a course, it's just really tight," she said. "With the wind swirling, it makes it so hard." Lang is coming off a three-week layoff, one week of it unintentional. She was disqualified at the McDonald's LPGA Championship after committing a rookie error -- failing to show up at the pre-tournament pro-am.
Johnnie Walker
GLENEAGLES, Scotland -- Thomas Bjorn shot an 8-under 65 for a two-shot lead in the first round. Bjorn led Paul Casey, Andres Romero and Andrew McLardy, who all had 67s. U.S. Open runner-up Colin Montgomerie bogeyed the last hole for a 68. His third shot sailed over the green into a bunker. He needed three more shots, reliving his last-hole error at the U.S. Open.