Sorenstam widens lead as Wie survives hard day

PALM DESERT, Calif. – Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie finished strong Saturday, leaving bright smiles on their faces for entirely different reasons at the Samsung World Championship.

Wie recovered from a miniature meltdown and battled back to break par.

Sorenstam, as she has done so often in her Hall of Fame career, blew away the field in the final hour at Bighorn with birdies on four of the last five holes for a 6-under 66 to build a four-shot lead.

The only birdie putt Sorenstam missed down the stretch was a 12-footer at the 17th, which hung on the edge. She finished at 15-under 201 to lead Gloria Park, who shot a 68.

“I finished a lot better than yesterday,” said Sorenstam, whose back-to-back bogeys at the end of the second round knocked her out of the lead.

“The previous two days, I haven’t made anything, and I missed little putts. It really leaves a sour taste in your mouth, especially when I feel like I’m playing so well.”

Wie missed some little putts, too, but they weren’t for birdie.

She missed a 4-foot comebacker for par on the second, then took three putts from 5 feet for a double bogey on the next hole that sent her to the middle of the pack in the 20-player field.

For the 16-year-old Wie, it began to look similar to the final round at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she missed several short putts on her way to an 82.

Unlike at Cherry Hills, she showed some fight.

Wie didn’t drop a shot the rest of the way, escaping from the bushes – no bees, this time – with a par and finishing with a birdie for a 1-under 71.

At 10-under 206, she is five shots behind.

“I didn’t play as well as I wanted, but I played really strong over the last couple of holes, and hopefully I can carry that on tomorrow,” Wie said.

“It felt good that I brought it back.”

Even so, with the No. 1 player in women’s golf in total control of her game, it appears the best Wie can do is play for the size of her first paycheck.

“If I feel like I played my best, I will be happy with that,” Wie said. “Obviously, if I won, that would be my dream. But I’m just going to take whatever happens.”

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 68 and finished the day tied for 18th place.