ASSOCIATED PRESSDANVILLE, Calif. – Nearly five months pregnant, Maria Hjorth shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday for a share of the first-round lead with Michele Redman at the Longs Drugs Challenge.
“It affects me a little bit,” said Hjorth, ranked 12th in the world.
“Sometimes my body gets a little bit slow and my hands get quicker than my body. Today, a few shots I pulled them a little bit left. Other than that it doesn’t really affect me too much. I’ve been feeling really good throughout the whole thing so far. I’ll keep on playing until I feel I can’t anymore.”
Hjorth matched Redman with seven birdies and a bogey on a sunny day at Blackhawk Country Club. In-Kyung Kim and Mikaela Parmlid were tied for second at 67.
Suzann Pettersen, a playoff winner over top-ranked Lorena Ochoa last year at Blackhawk, was two strokes back at 68 along with LPGA Championship winner Yani Tseng, Sarah Lee, Sarah Kemp, Meaghan Francella, Reilley Rankin and Wendy Ward.
Winless this year, Pettersen had a chance to tie for the lead on her final hole, but three-putted for a bogey.
“It’s a good start,” Pettersen said. “Maybe a couple better could have been perfect. You never know what perfect is going to be.”
Ochoa, a seven-time winner this year, opened with a 70. Santa Cruz resident Juli Inkster, who won in 1999 and 2000 at Twelve Bridges, also had a 70.
“Of course I would like to be better, but I can’t complain,” Ochoa said. “I just have to be positive, and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.”
Paula Creamer, the Samsung World Championship winner last week at Half Moon Bay, had two double bogeys and an eagle in a 74. Ai Miyazato, coming off a victory Sunday in the Japan Women’s Open, shot a 72.
The Lakeside Course has five par 5s that Hjorth said she can reach in two shots and a few par 4s that she believes she can drive.
“It’s a good advantage to hit it further here on this course,” said Hjorth, who has a pair of top-10 finishes at Blackhawk. “It’s one of those courses if you drive it well you’re going to have a lot of birdie chances.”
The 43-year-old Redman hasn’t finished in the top 10 in any of her 17 previous tournaments this year. She has won twice, but not since 2000.
“I’m just hitting it really good right now,” Redman said.
In the 2006 tournament, she took an 11 on the par-5 third hole in the first round, missed the cut and broke up with her longtime caddie.
Redman reunited with her caddie, Joe Connolly, earlier this year. They returned to the par-5 third Thursday, and this time Redman birdied the hole.
“I looked over at Joe and said, ‘Well, we’re seven shots better than we were the last time we played this hole in the first round,’ ” Redman said. “It was a mess. We have a little redemption going on here.”
Scores with relation to par from the first round of the Longs Drugs Challenge, played Oct. 9 at the par-72, 6,185-yard Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, Calif.:
| 1. Maria Hjorth |
66 |
|
|
-6 |
| 1. Michele Redman |
66 |
|
|
-6 |
| 3. In-Kyung Kim |
67 |
|
|
-5 |
| 3. Mikaela Parmlid |
67 |
|
|
-5 |
| 5. Sarah Lee |
68 |
|
|
-4 |
| 5. Sarah Kemp |
68 |
|
|
-4 |
| 5. Meaghan Francella |
68 |
|
|
-4 |
| 5. Wendy Ward |
68 |
|
|
-4 |
| 5. Yani Tseng |
68 |
|
|
-4 |
| 5. Suzann Pettersen |
68 |
|
|
-4 |
| 5. Reilley Rankin |
68 |
|
|
-4 |
| 12. Charlotte Mayorkas |
69 |
|
|
-3 |
| 12. Sophie Giquel |
69 |
|
|
-3 |
| 12. Kate Golden |
69 |
|
|
-3 |
| 12. Julieta Granada |
69 |
|
|
-3 |
| 12. Rachel Hetherington |
69 |
|
|
-3 |
| 12. Mollie Fankhauser |
69 |
|
|
-3 |
| 18. Brandie Burton |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Nicole Castrale |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Laura Davies |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Becky Morgan |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Juli Inkster |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Kristy McPherson |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Lorena Ochoa |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Pat Hurst |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Angela Stanford |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Joo Mi Kim |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Sandra Gal |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 18. Carolina Llano |
70 |
|
|
-2 |
| 30. Stacy Lewis |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 30. Michelle McGann |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 30. Nancy Scranton |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 30. Na On Min |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 30. Karen Stupples |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 30. Irene Cho |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 30. Na Yeon Choi |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 30. Mi Hyun Kim |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 30. Silvia Cavalleri |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 30. Giulia Sergas |
71 |
|
|
-1 |
| 40. Il Mi Chung |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Jeong Jang |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Ai Miyazato |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Laura Diaz |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Shanshan Feng |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Eun-Hee Ji |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Hee-Won Han |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Hee Young Park |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Kyeong Bae |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Stacy Prammanasudh |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Brittany Lang |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Violeta Retamoza |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 40. Carri Wood |
72 |
|
|
E |
| 53. Candy Hannemann |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Jackie Gallagher-Smith |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Karin Sjodin |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Candie Kung |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Allison Fouch |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Carin Koch |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Seon Hwa Lee |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Janice Moodie |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Linda Wessberg |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Beth Bader |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Heather Young |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Meredith Duncan |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Moira Dunn |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 53. Jennifer Rosales |
73 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 67. Amy Hung |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Alena Sharp |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Su A Kim |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Young-A Yang |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Helen Alfredsson |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Leta Lindley |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Sophie Gustafson |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Karine Icher |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Lorie Kane |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Morgan Pressel |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 67. Paula Creamer |
74 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 78. Mhairi McKay |
75 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 78. Jane Park |
75 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 78. Teresa Lu |
75 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 78. Diana D'Alessio |
75 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 78. Becky Lucidi |
75 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 78. Wendy Doolan |
75 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 78. Seo-Jae Lee |
75 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 85. Heather Daly-Donofrio |
76 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 85. Aree Song |
76 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 85. Stephanie Louden |
76 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 85. Young Kim |
76 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 85. Ji Young Oh |
76 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 85. Dorothy Delasin |
76 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 91. Russy Gulyanamitta |
77 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 91. Christina Kim |
77 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 91. Birdie Kim |
77 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 91. Sarah Jane Kenyon |
77 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 91. Patricia Meunier-Lebouc |
77 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 91. Liz Janangelo |
77 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 97. Nicole Perrot |
78 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 97. Sung Ah Yim |
78 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 97. Kim Welch |
78 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 97. Gloria Park |
78 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 97. Kelli Kuehne |
78 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 102. Becky Iverson |
79 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 102. Brittany Lincicome |
79 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 102. Liselotte Neumann |
79 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 102. Emily Bastel |
79 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 106. Kim Hall |
81 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 107. Sun Young Yoo |
82 |
|
+ |
10 |
| 108. Christa Johnson |
84 |
|
+ |
12 |
Posted: 10/9/2008
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