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Leader of the Pak Sorenstam's record-seeking run off to seven-stroke deficit
Updated: Friday April 20, 2001 4:05 AM
LINCOLN, Calif. (AP) -- While Annika Sorenstam struggled amid all the attention of trying for a record-tying fifth consecutive LPGA victory, Si Re Pak overcame cool temperatures and occasional showers to take an early first-round lead in the Longs Drugs Challenge on Thursday. Pak shot a 6-under-par 66 before periodic afternoon downpours slowed the action and held a two-stroke lead over Michele Redman. Sorenstam finished with a 1-over 73. Play was suspended for nearly an hour in the late afternoon because of lightning, and the last group did not finish until nearly 8 p.m. PDT. Starting the day on the back nine, Sorenstam bogeyed the par-3 13th and par-4 14th. Having teed off late, she had to play at times in a driving rain. "What makes me feel better is it's a four-day tournament," she said. "I have three more days." Despite the finish, Sorenstam felt confident. "When you feel good about your game, you can't really worry," she said. With four consecutive tour victories, Sorenstam is vying to tie Nancy Lopez's streak of five tournament wins in a row in 1978 when she exploded onto the scene as a 21-year-old rookie. Sorenstam, in her eighth year on the tour, won in Los Angeles last weekend by recovering from a 10-shot deficit with a final-round 66. Playing in six events so far, she placed second in two and won the rest. She also shot the first 59 ever recorded in women's competition, in the second round of the Standard Register Ping in Phoenix; and grabbed her first major title in five years by winning the Nabisco Championship. Pak, who didn't make the cut last week in Los Angeles, won the first tournament of the year in Orlando, and finished second in two others. She is currently third on the money list. Pak, the soft-spoken Korean who did not win a tournament last year after winning four in each of the previous two, hired a new coach and brought on a new caddie, Colin Cann, for this season. Pak had one birdie on the front nine, but warmed up with four birdies on the back. Her 15-foot putt on the par-5 17th put her at 6-under. "This morning was really cold and I was stiffer," she said. "Finally the sun came out and it was better than this morning." Pak said she's not daunted by Sorenstam's streak. "I don't care who is at the top, I just try to play my game and do my best," she said. Redman also finished before the rain showers and her 68 had her a stroke in front of a group of three. Redman figures Sorenstam will be a factor despite her lackluster performance in the opening round. "I'm sure this week she's probably feeling the pressure to win five," Redman said of Sorenstam. "Once you get in that routine and you're winning, your confidence keeps getting better and better." Sorenstam tied for sixth last year in the Longs Drugs Challenge. Juli Inkster, the two-time defending tournament champion, shot a 7-over 79. "I had seven 30-putts out there," she said. "So that's why I'm not there." Inkster, who lives in Los Altos and went to San Jose State, finished 13-under last year, a tournament record.
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