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Hurst out front Seeking fourth consecutive win, Sorenstam four back
Updated: Friday April 13, 2001 12:33 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Pat Hurst birdied four of the first nine holes en route to a 5-under 67 in Thursday's opening round of The Office Depot. Annika Sorenstam, going for a record-tying fourth consecutive victory, ran into trouble immediately. Hurst rolled in a 20-footer for birdie on the first hole and saved par with a 10-footer on the 18th to take a two-shot lead. In between, she bogeyed the 11th and 17th, both par 4s. The 54-hole event ends Saturday to avoid a conflict with Easter Sunday. "I tend to go out and be more aggressive in a three-day tournament. I felt like that's what I was doing," Hurst said. "Three-day events are a lot harder. You don't have that extra day to make up shots." Sorenstam stumbled out of the gate with a double-bogey on the 385-yard first hole at Wilshire Country Club. She hit left into one of the two bunkers that guard the green and three-putted. "It happened so quickly," the Swede said. "After that, it was kind of playing catch-up and it's not so easy on this golf course. When you drop two shots on one hole, it feels like you're catching up all day." Sorenstam concluded her round in cool, sunny and windy conditions with a 2-foot birdie putt on the 155-yard 18th for a 1-under 71. It left her in the unfamiliar position of chasing the leader. "It's not a role I really like," she said. Sorenstam is trying to join Hall of Famers Mickey Wright and Kathy Whitworth as the only LPGA players to win four consecutively scheduled events. Wright did it in 1962 and '63, and Whitworth in '69. The LPGA record for consecutive victories is five by Nancy Lopez, although she took a week off after three straight wins. Sorenstam has three victories and two seconds in five tournaments this year, including a win in the Nabisco Championship on March 25 before the tour took a two-week break. "It's in the back of my mind," she said of her streak. "I know what's at stake, but there are some players here who are very, very hungry to win and they're not going to give it to me. I have to play some great golf." Michelle McGann, Dina Ammaccapane, Kristi Albers and Marnie McGuire of New Zealand were tied for second after shooting 69s on a course new to the LPGA Tour. Anne-Marie Palli of France shot a 70 and was among five players tied at 2-under. Dottie Pepper and Sorenstam's younger sister, Charlotta, were part of a large group tied at 71. Sorenstam settled down on the back nine, with four birdies and one bogey on the 359-yard, par-4 16th, where she drove to the right near a creek and two-putted. She teed off at noon, and the winds picked up and the greens got bumpier during the afternoon. "Believe it or not, I'm very happy with my score," she said. "The course is tough. The wind was swirling on several holes. I thought it was very tricky." Divots: Whitworth is rooting on Sorenstam from her home in Flower Mound, Texas. "I hope Annika does it. I'd be thrilled if she could win five in a row," Whitworth said. "All records are meant to be broken, and I think it's wonderful that she has the chance to put her name in the record books again." ... If Sorenstam finishes first or second, it will give her the $63,552 she needs to reach $700,000 in six events, which would break the record for quickest player to reach that mark in season earnings. ... No American has won in eight tournaments this year. ... Laura Davies, who won last year's Los Angeles stop in Simi Valley, had a 79 on a course that doesn't favor her booming drives. ... Tournament host Amy Alcott was miked during her round of 77, the first time ESPN2 has done that on the LPGA Tour. ... Defending champion Grace Park, who won this tournament when it was played under a different name in South Carolina last year, shot a 76 in front of a large Korean contingent. ... Alcott, who lives in Santa Monica, played in the same threesome as Sorenstam, who asked for tips on the course. But Alcott couldn't help because she has only played Wilshire a few times.
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