Nordqvist takes lead at LPGA

HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. (AP) — As a young golfer in Sweden, Anna Nordqvist patterned her career after the best female golfer her country has ever produced — Annika Sorenstam.

No comparisons can be made yet between Sorenstam, the leading money winner in LPGA Tour history, and Nordqvist, a rookie with $23,132 in career earnings.

This much can be said about Nordqvist, though: She sure knows how to play under pressure in a major tournament.

Nordqvist made a 36-foot birdie putt on the final hole Friday to break a tie with Nicole Castrale and take the lead after two rounds in the LPGA Championship.

Nordqvist shot a 70 for an 8-under 136. Castrale stumbled at the outset and charged to the finish while shooting a par 72, and Katherine Hull (69) and Lindsey Wright (68) were 6 under.

“I was just trying to go out there and have fun and enjoy the day,” said Nordqvist, who made the cut in the Women’s British Open the last two years as an amateur. “Just a lot of patience, hit fairways, hit greens.”

Birdies on Nos. 10, 15 and 17 dropped her to 9 under, and she refused to be bothered by bogeys on 18 and 4.

“I knew I was hitting it solid. I just tried to pace myself and forward to the next holes,” Nordqvist said.

Sounds like something Sorenstam would say before she retired.

“Annika has always been my role model, and I always looked up to what she’s accomplished during her career,” Nordqvist said. “She’s really been a meaningful influence in motivating me to work harder. She shows that someone from Sweden can really succeed.”