U.S. Women's Open Notebook: Webb, Wie struggle

Brandon Tucker,
Senior Writer

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. -- Only two scores Thursday at Pine Needles were higher than Michelle Wie's 82. One of them is from hall-of-famer Karrie Webb, who shot an 83. She called it one of her worst rounds ever.

"I felt good coming in. I don't know what happened," Webb said. "I just played bad from the start."

McDonald's LPGA Championship winner Suzann Pettersen scored five bogeys and a double-bogey before recording her first par. She shot a front nine 43 before recovering with a 33 on the back to finish 5-over.

LPGA youth movement marches forward

Twenty-five players in this year's field are under the age of 20, the same number as the 2006 Open. Eighteen-year-old Angela Park leads with a 3-under 68.

"I go down in the locker room and it's like having my family there," said veteran Juli Inkster. "I have a 17 year old and a 13 year old. I don't know where it's going, but they're getting good fast. And it's fun to see."

Pressel recovering from spider bite

Morgan Pressel was visibly limping during Wednesday's practice round - the result of a spider bite suffered on her ankle Tuesday night. Thursday however she seemed fully recovered.

"This morning I woke up and the first thing I reached for is my ankle," said Pressel. "And it is still a little swollen, but it's gone down a lot and I had no pain when I was swinging, so that's good."

Laura Davies records day's second eagle

Most of the gallery had gone home by the time the players went back on the course following an almost four-hour rain delay. But that didn't stop LPGA Tour veteran Laura Davies from a show-stopping eagle on the 356-yard 8th hole.

Earlier, Lorena Ochoa eagled the par-4 14th from a fairway bunkers 195 yards from the pin.

Blasberg knows birdies

Erica Blasberg struggled early in her round before rattling off three straight birdies to finish the front nine. She says getting on the greens at Pine Needles is the difficult part - once you're on however you can be aggressive.

"Up and downs here are harder than most places," said Blasberg. "But you can birdie holes. It's easy to make putts out here."

June 29, 2007

Brandon Tucker is a Senior Writer and Special Projects Editor for the WorldGolf.com Network, where he contributes not only golf and travel articles, but photo essays, videos and more. His golf travels have taken him across the U.S., including more than 50 Myrtle Beach-area golf courses, and to such destinations as Scotland, Wales, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and Malaysia.