Cloudy Finish for Sorenstam

As it turned out, there was more thunder than there were birdies on Friday at the U.S. Women’s Open for Annika Sorenstam, who discovered that bad weather did nothing but delay the unruly 75 that was in store for her at Cherry Hills Country Club.

There still may be a third straight major championship in the works for Sorenstam, but not unless she starts getting the ball in the hole a lot faster.

After a bogey-bogey-bogey finish, you could almost see the steam rising off Sorenstam’s visor. One place she was not heading was the practice range.

“I think it’s just one of those days,” Sorenstam said. “Sometimes you just can’t analyze things. You just drop it, move on and come back.”

It could have been worse. Sorenstam hit only eight fairways, two fewer than in her first round, needed 35 putts and now starts the weekend tied for 22nd and six shots out of the lead, with 15-year-old Michelle Wie and Lorena Ochoa tied for second.

Setting the pace is 21-year-old Nicole Perrot of Chile, and it’s hard to decide what’s more shocking, the fact she’s in front or the thatch of platinum-colored hair poking out from beneath her cap.

Actually, the shock of the day had to be Sorenstam’s problems. Her total of birdies equaled the number of weather delays, one of each. Afternoon thunderstorms are about as common as trees around here, so Sorenstam’s inability to put on some kind of birdie run is probably the surprise of the tournament.

Sorenstam has four birdies in 36 holes, and after starting the day at even par and two shots from the lead, she started going in the wrong direction. She insisted that there is a long way to go.

“Six shots behind is nothing,” she said. “That can change in nine holes, can change in four holes. I have been there, I have done that. I know what it feels like. So, obviously, I have got to make some putts. I have to play some good golf, no doubt about it. But I am a fighter and I’m not going to give up until the end.”

In the 156-player field, Sorenstam ranks 102nd in putting.

“There are birdies out there,” she said, “I just haven’t been able to find them.”

Wie said not even a two-over 73 would sour her disposition, and not just because she had to get up at 4:15 a.m. in order to play the last three holes of her first round.

At even par 142 through the first two rounds and two shots behind Perrot, Wie said she’s ready to win this U.S. Open.

“I feel like I’m ready,” she said. “I feel like I am playing well enough and as long as I make a couple more putts, play a little big more consistently, if I play under par, I think I have a good chance.”

She saved her only birdie of the second round for the last hole, the ninth, when she stuck a seven-iron to within a foot of the flagstick.

Wie has two seconds in four LPGA events this year, including a runner-up to Sorenstam two weeks ago in the LPGA Championship. Wie also tied for second at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, tied for 12th at the Safeway International and tied for 14th at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the year’s first major.

Wie, who arrived last Friday and started playing practice rounds Saturday, hit driver only twice in her second round. She said she knew there was no choice because of the setup of the course, which demands accuracy off the tee.

“I’d rather go to a golf course where it’s like about 100 yards wide and I can hit driver all the time,” she said, “but I accept the fact that [hitting] fairways is good and [it’s about hitting] fairways and greens here.”

Sorenstam didn’t hit the fairways at the 16th and 17th and made bogey both times. At the 18th, Sorenstam laid up, chipped on and two-putted for another bogey.

The greens became bumpy because of all the traffic, and since Sorenstam’s group was the fifth from the last, they were deteriorating rapidly. She said she needs some putts to drop, but what she really needs is a flashy comeback, something she hasn’t needed this year.

She has held the 36-hole lead five times in eight tournaments and only once trailed by more than four shots. In that one, she tied for 12th when Cristie Kerr won at Kingsmill.

Halfway through the Open and her shot at the Grand Slam at stake, Sorenstam said her timing about the way it’s going right now isn’t great.

“You get frustrated that it’s happening this week, but it’s just the first two rounds,” she said. “Anything can happen.”