KAHUKU — There was nothing subtle about how Annika Sorenstam blew through the second round of the SBS Open at Turtle Bay yesterday. If looks are not deceiving, there might be little any golfer can do today to prevent the LPGA's greatest player from winning the first tournament of the year.

That might make the rest of the tour ponder its 2008 fate.

Sorenstam shows all signs of being back from her health problems of 2007, which prevented her from winning for the first time since 1994. She hinted at it in Thursday's 70, fractured only by a double-bogey on her next-to-last hole. Yesterday, it was in-your-face reality.

Sorenstam chipped in for birdie on the third hole, splashed to a double-bogey on the fourth, then terrorized the Turtle Bay Palmer Course for six ridiculously easy birdies on her final 10 holes. None of those putts was more than 11 feet; the first two were within 24 inches.

"Today I'm in control of my game," Sorenstam said. "I feel like I'm the boss out there and I'm hitting it where I wanted to hit it. That's been awhile. It's tough to say how many months, but I've had stretches where I felt that. But now it's consistent 18 holes and another round and another round and that's really what I'm looking for."

It is a chilling statement for the rest of the golfers, but great for the state of the LPGA and Sorenstam's mind. She was followed by a large, happy crowd yesterday. She was happier.

Sorenstam, 37, was inducted into the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame five years ago. She has a record eight Player of the Year honors and has won nearly $21 million — $7 million more than any other woman.

Until Lorena Ochoa captured some of Sorenstam's mojo, and money, the last two years, the Swede owned the LPGA much like Tiger Woods overwhelms the PGA Tour.

Ochoa is not even in the country now, let alone the islands. If Sorenstam wins today at Turtle Bay, she will be a prohibitive favorite at the Fields Open in Hawai'i starting Thursday, and possibly every week between now and the inaugural Kapalua LPGA Classic in October.

She shot a 5-under-par 67 yesterday and shares the lead with Erica Blasberg (68) at 7-under 137. Sorenstam is going for her 70th LPGA win, which would leave her 18 short of Kathy Whitworth's record.

Blasberg, 23, did most of her damage before turning pro. The non-exempt player was a three-time junior All-American and a two-time collegiate All-American. Her best finish in 56 LPGA starts is 18th. Her last win came on the Futures Tour in 2004.

Will the sight of Sorenstam on the first tee freak her out?

"No, Annika is awesome," Blasberg said. "It will be more fun, actually.

"I don't think that fazes me so much .... Some of those things can get in your head — you're playing with the world's greatest player, you've got the last group ... . But I'm just going to be out there and play golf and not really think too much about what's going on around me."

Blasberg did admit she had "numbed myself to the feeling of winning" since joining the tour in 2005 and feeling her way to this point. She enjoys getting that feeling back.

It will be intriguing to see who enjoys today's final round the most. Jane Park, Laura Diaz, Cristie Kerr and 21-year-old Momoko Ueda out of Kumamoto — this week's Japanese golf idol — are all a shot back.

Lindsey Wright, who has an affinity for Hawai'i but no wins, is two back. Seven golfers, including four of the tour's 45 South Koreans, a Thai (Russy Gulyanamitta), 45-year-old Sherri Steinhauer and tri-lingual Angela Park share eighth at 140.

Park, the reigning Rookie of the Year, was born in Brazil of Korean ancestry and lives in California. She fired a 7-under 65 yesterday that tied the tournament record set by Ochoa and Joo Mi Kim in 2006. The shortest of her eight birdie putts was eight feet.

And then there is Sorenstam, who played just 13 events last year because of a ruptured disk in her back. She hasn't played in Hawai'i since she won the 2002 LPGA Takefuji Classic at Waikoloa. After the first two rounds, she appears more than ready to win again. Her metronome swing, no longer affected by the injury, is in perfect rhythm. On a brilliant North Shore day, her consistency was back and so was her control.

"So now it's just a matter for me to play under competitive circumstances," Sorenstam said. "It's a lot of fun when you stand over a shot and you know you can do it rather than worrying where is it going this time?"

The only ones worrying now are those behind Sorenstam.

NOTES

The cut came at 3-over 147 with 79 advancing. Kapalua's Morgan Pressel (71-144) made it to the final round as did Turtle Bay's Dorothy Delasin (74-146). She rallied from a double-bogey at the 16th to birdie the 18th, her only birdie of the round. First-round leader Kelli Kuehne (79-146) also made it. Punahou graduate Bridget Dwyer (75-151) missed out in her LPGA debut. Waikoloa's Cindy Rarick (76-156) also failed to make it.

Annika Sorenstam has gone into the final round with a lead 69 times, and won 46, the last the 2006 U.S. Women's Open. This is the first time she has played SBS and said it was on her schedule before she realized an LPGA rule that requires top players to be in each event at least once over a four-year period kicked in.

"I was planning on coming here," Sorenstam said. "The reason I haven't been here in the past is all about scheduling. I finish in December, and need a little break and I want to practice and haven't been ready until March.

"But last year, playing 13 events or so, I felt like I kind of had an off-season and I didn't need a long break during the winter. ... Yes, it was on my schedule and then I got an e-mail from the LPGA and it turned out to be one of them (a 1-in-4 requirement reminder)."

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.