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SportsJune 10, 2005

Annika Sorenstam turned her head and studied the large leaderboard behind the green on her last hole Thursday in the LPGA Championship, seeing her name in a familiar position at the top. It didn't stay there long, but it was never far away. Natalie Gulbis rose to the occasion of playing with Sorenstam by closing with five straight birdies, including an 18-foot putt on the ninth hole for a 5-under 67. ...

Annika Sorenstam turned her head and studied the large leaderboard behind the green on her last hole Thursday in the LPGA Championship, seeing her name in a familiar position at the top.

It didn't stay there long, but it was never far away.

Natalie Gulbis rose to the occasion of playing with Sorenstam by closing with five straight birdies, including an 18-foot putt on the ninth hole for a 5-under 67. She shared the lead with big-hitting Laura Davies, who bullied the par 5s at Bulle Rock and nearly reached the 596-yard 11th hole in two, and with Laura Diaz.

Bulle Rock in Havre de Grace, Md., delivered plenty of excitement in sauna-like conditions, with a celebration for Karrie Webb as the newest member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and a celebration of youth. Eighteen-year-old Paula Creamer birdied four straight holes late in her round for a 68, and 15-year-old Michelle Wie overcame a sick stomach for a 69.

Davies can get into the Hall of Fame with a victory at the McDonald's LPGA Championship, although she knows the tournament doesn't really start until Sunday, and she was well aware of who was behind her.

"There's a certain Sorenstam out there that will be hard to beat," Davies said.

Sorenstam wound up with a bogey-free 68, breaking her own LPGA Tour record with her 12th consecutive round in the 60s. And it was just the start she was looking for as she goes for the second leg of the Grand Slam.

"Today is probably 10 percent of the whole tournament," Sorenstam said. "It's such a long way to go. I've got to be patient, If you prepare for months and months and set high goals, the last thing to do is come to a tournament and get in my own way. That would ruin it for myself."

Gulbis, the calendar girl whose next project is a reality show on TV, put some focus on her game with a terrific finish.

"My caddie and I thought 8 under would win this," Gulbis said. "I thought pretty much anything under par would be a really good round."

There were plenty of scores like that.

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Creamer, coming off her first LPGA Tour victory and then high school graduation, found a groove with her irons and didn't have to make a birdie putt longer than 6 feet coming in.

Wie was lucky to finish. Despite a beautiful flop shot within 3 feet at the par-5 eighth and another solid wedge from a severe downhill lie in the rough on the ninth, she looked as though she would rather be anywhere than on the golf course.

Then, play was suspended nearly an hour because of storms in the area.

"I feel really stupid saying this," Wie said. "I ate too much. It caused a little indigestion. Every time I breathed, it felt like barf was coming out."

The break recharged her, and she played the back nine in 32.

Dalhousie Golf Club touring pro Karen Stupples shot a even-par 72.

Booz Allen Classic

Matt Gogel shot a course-record 8-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead in the suspended first round of the Booz Allen Classic in Bethesda, Md.

Gogel birdied eight of his last 13 holes in a bogey-free round.

Lee Westwood, Brett Wetterich, Fredrik Jacobson and Kevin Stadler were tied for second. Stadler was the only one of the four yet to complete the round, having finished 14 holes when play was stopped for the day because of lightning.

Gogel broke the record of 64 on Congressional's Blue Course set by Tommy Jacobs in the 1964 U.S. Open and matched by George Burns, Bobby Clampett and Fred Couples when the Booz Allen, then known as the Kemper Open, was played here annually in the 1980s.

-- From wire reports

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