Michelle Wie
KOHLER, Wis. - Suzann Pettersen birdied four of her first seven holes en route to a second round 68 and the lead at 5-under par midway through the U.S. Women's Open.
Pettersen leads by one over 2007 champion Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie, whose 6-under par 66 tied for the third lowest second round score in U.S. Women's Open history.
"I played out of my butt today to shoot 6-under," said Wie. "I just went out there and kind of tried to be patient, and when putts started dropping in, it makes for a low round."
For Wie, it was a complete turnaround from day one when she opened with a 74. Despite hitting four fewer greens in regulation, the two-time LPGA Tour winner managed to cut 12 putting strokes from opening day performance.
"I had a couple more birdie putts today than I did yesterday, and yesterday I felt like I was lagging on my putts because I was outside 30 feet most of the day. So being closer to the hole definitely helps."
It's been a struggle this year for Wie, who has missed the cut in six of 12 events including three of her last four tournaments.
Sandra Gal (70) of Germany, Inbee Park (70) of South Korea and American Vicky Hurst (70) were all tied at 3-under par.
World number one Yani Tseng shot an even par round of 72 which left her at 2-over par while first round co-leader Lincicome had a miserable day, shooting an 80 to just make the cut at 5-over.
Second-ranked Stacy Lewis recovered from a first-round 77 to shoot a 69 on Friday, putting her 2 over. Third-ranked Ai Miyazato, the winner last week in Arkansas, was even par after a 74.
Defending champion So Yeon Ryu shot a 71 and was 1 over.
Se Ri Pak, the Open winner at Blackwolf Run in 1998, also was 1 over after a 73.
For the second year in a row Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., made the weekend cut. The two-time B.C. Junior Girls Champion bogeyed two of her final three holes for a round of 72 which leaves her at 3-over.
Lorie Kane of Charlottetown had three birdies over her first four holes but dropped four shots over her final nine holes to finish at 5-over par.
Amateur Jisoo Keel of Coquitlam, B.C., carded a second round 77 and will miss the cut along with Isabelle Beiseigel (74) of Saint-Hilaire, Que.
Morgan Pressel withdrew from the tournament after making a 10 on the par-4 14th. She was sitting at 17-over par when she walked off the course. Pressel, a runner-up at the 2005 U.S. Women's Open, has been struggling with a thumb injury which forced her to withdraw from last week's event in Arkansas.