Posted at 3:34 p.m., Friday, November 9, 2007
Golf: Creamer opens 5-shot lead at LPGA tourney
Advertiser Staff
MOBILE, Ala. — Paula Creamer made a big move today at Magnolia Grove to join Lorena Ochoa and Suzann Pettersen as the LPGA Tour's only multiple winners this year.After birdieing the final seven holes Thursday for a share of the lead in the Tournament of Champions, Creamer shot a bogey-free, 7-under 65 on Friday to open a five-stroke advantage at 12-under 132.
The 21-year-old Californian, the SBS Open winner in February for her lone victory of the season and third in three years, birdied three of the final four holes on The Crossings Course, rolling in a 35-footer on the par-4 18th.
Jin Joo Hong was second at 7 under after a 67. Annika Sorenstam (67) and Pat Hurst (69) were 6 under, and Karen Stupples (67) was another stroke back in the event limited to tournament winners from 2004-07 and active Hall of Famers.
Pettersen was 4 under after a 71 that included two penalty strokes. She's coming off consecutive victories in South Korea and Thailand and has won three of her last four starts to raise her season victory total to five.
Ochoa, the defending champion, was 1 under after a 69.
Already the player of the year, Ochoa has won seven times this season and earned a record $3,337,993. Last year at Magnolia Grove, the Mexican star had weekend rounds of 63 and 65 for a 10-stroke victory and 21-under 267 total, both tournament records.
Pettersen was penalized two strokes on the par-5 13th, the first for accidentally moving her ball while trying to remove a loose branch and the second for failing to play the ball from its original location.
