GLADSTONE, New Jersey, 9 July 2006 — Michelle Wie scored an impressive 2 and 1 victory over South Korea’s Pak Se-ri to earn a place in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Matchplay Championship yesterday. Annika Sorenstam, the No. 1 seed, was an even easier winner at Hamilton Farm Golf Club, going through by 6 and 5 against Brittany Lang to set up a last-eight meeting with another American, Juli Inkster.
Wie, who is seeded to meet Sorenstam in today’s final, lost the opening hole to five-time major winner Pak but hit back with birdies at the second and eighth to reach the turn one up.
She lost the tenth to a par after missing a tiny putt but showed her strength of character by making birdies at the long 11th and 14th to move two ahead. She won the short 17th with a par to close out the tie and advance to a quarterfinal later against American 20-year-old Brittany Lincicome.
Sorenstam had it easy against rookie Lang. She won five holes on the front nine, the first and fifth with birdies and the long ninth with a great eagle three after hitting the green in two. She added another birdie at the 12th on her way to the runaway victory. In the battle of the American teenagers, Paula Creamer outplayed Morgan Pressel from the start. She won three of the first seven holes with birdies and ran out a 3 and 1 winner. Creamer now meets Australia’s Karrie Webb, while the No. 3 seed, Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa who ended the South Korean interest with a 3 and 2 win over Kim Mi-hyun, faces the big-hitting Swede Sophie Gustafson.
Lara Holds Slender Advantage at European Open
In Dublin, Spain’s Jose Manuel Lara will take a one shot advantage into the final round of the European Open after a late series of twists and turns on the leaderboard at the K Club yesterday.
In pouring rain and blustery winds the 28 year-old from Valencia, who has never won on the European Tour, kept his nerve while others faltered badly, to shoot a five-under par 67 to move to nine under par for the tournament. Even without the atrocious weather it would have been a superb effort considering that early in his round, after he bogeyed his first hole of the day, Lara was standing nine shots behind the then leader Bradley Dredge of Wales.
