73 in wind puts Ochoa four strokes back

May 2, 2008

Lorena Ochoa struggled with gusts that reached 36 mph yesterday, as she had only her second round over par this year.

"I managed to finish with a good score," she said about her 2-over 73 at the SemGroup Championship in Broken Arrow, Okla.

On a day that yielded only four scores under par, Ochoa took some measure of satisfaction by not letting the leaders get too far away in her quest for a record-tying fifth consecutive victory on the LPGA Tour.

Hee Young Park shot a 2-under 69 to top the leader board as every player had a tough day at Cedar Ridge.

Two other subpar rounds came from Ochoa's group - Paula Creamer and defending champion Mi Hyun Kim, each with 70.

On a day that Time magazine listed her as one of the 100 influential people in the world, Ochoa had no influence on the wind. And it didn't help that her hands were too quick, sending her shots high into the air where the gusts knocked her ball every which way.

With a sand wedge, she went 80 feet over the flag and over the green. A tee shot drifted well left of a par 3 and down the slope. A drive went so far left that she was nearly in the next fairway.

Ochoa atoned for those mistakes with a 5-wood from 223 yards to 2 feet for eagle on her 10th hole, the par-5 first, and this was one day she had few complaints about a round over par.

"I'm OK," she said. "I'm not too far from the leaders."

• PGA Wachovia Championship // David Toms took the first-round lead in Charlotte, N.C., breaking out of a missed-cut, sore-back funk with a 5-under 67. Toms made eight birdies, including a near ace at the 13th hole, to take a one-shot lead over Phil Mickelson and Jason Bohn. It was a welcome change for the 2001 PGA Championship winner, whose last victory was more than two years ago.

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73 in wind puts Ochoa four strokes back

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73 in wind puts Ochoa four strokes back

Related topic galleries: Phil Mickelson, Wachovia Corp., PGA Championship, Mi Hyun Kim, Lorena Ochoa, David Toms

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