Sorenstam, Jones Meet Halfway

She has to be better at golf than mathematics, which must be why Annika Sorenstam said that halfway through the Kraft Nabisco Championship, she knows exactly what percentage of the tournament has been completed.

“It’s 30%,” she said.

In that case, they were clearly playing a numbers game Friday at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, where Sorenstam shot a three-under-par 69 in search of her fifth consecutive victory and is tied for the lead with Rosie Jones, who’s trying to beat the odds and win a major at 45.

Jones birdied the last hole to top off a 70 and catch Sorenstam at the same 36-hole total of five-under 139.

With a five-birdie, two-bogey day, Sorenstam is eight shots ahead of her pace at the same juncture last year, when she tied for 13th. And despite her catchy round that included holing a bunker shot at the eighth, Sorenstam said she didn’t want to get carried away with how well it’s all going for her.

“I’ve put myself in a good position for the weekend, and it’s really the weekend where things happen, where things matter. Just want to stay calm. There’s a long way to go, so I’m not going to think too much about it.”

Then think about this: The only LPGA player to win five in a row is Nancy Lopez, so Sorenstam is trying to elbow her way into elite company. But so is Jones, on a somewhat different scale.

“I want to win this major just as much as Annika wants to win five in a row,” Jones said.

Meanwhile, Mi Hyun Kim has her own reasons for wanting to win. Kim, whose 71 (including 17 pars) put her in third place, a shot behind Sorenstam and Jones, said she is ecstatic to be in contention.

“My parents told me, ‘If you win the major, you can marry.’ So I have to win the major.”

Kim said only part of the situation has been worked out. She doesn’t have anybody picked out to marry.

So for Kim and everyone else still in the hunt, it’s first things first, get it done on the course and then start making whatever arrangements you need.

Bad back and all, Grace Park found that a 68 was available for her. She is tied for fourth with second-year pro Reilley Rankin at three-under 141. It has to be considered a dramatic turnaround for Park, who as recently as Wednesday considered pulling out of the tournament because of persistent pain in her back.

But after a near-error-free round -- a single bogey -- Park said she might have some kind of advantage because she didn’t expect too much of herself.

“I guess it helped,” she said. “Look where I am. I’m just going to go out and just bump it around.”

Park, the defending champion, birdied the first two holes and made her bogey at the par-four sixth when she hit an eight-iron into the front bunker. She rebounded with a birdie at the ninth after hitting a lob wedge to 15 feet, then birdied the 11th and 16th to climb into contention.

Going in the opposite direction was Michelle Wie, whose two-over 74 dropped her into a tie for 14th at even par.

Also on the negative side, Sorenstam and Park were put on the clock for slow play on the last hole, although neither saw a reason for it.

The cut was at nine-over 153, which allowed Ai Miyazato to stay around for the weekend. Miyazato, the 19-year-old sensation of the Japanese LPGA Tour, birdied the 18th hole, shot a 76 and was at 151.

“I am very happy,” she said. “If I missed the cut, a little bit disappointing, but I still enjoy everything.”

Jones is going to play today in the same group with Sorenstam and see up close what all the fuss about this business of winning five in a row is all about.

“I would love to be the person to block that, but it’s a great goal to have for her,” Jones said. “It’s a great record. You know, I wish her luck, but we still have two more days to play, and she’s going to have to beat us all.”