Ochoa keeps her sights on Sorenstam

Lorena Ochoa had sufficiently recovered from a double bogey and was slowly making her way up the leaderboard Thursday in the McDonald’s LPGA Championship when she stopped to ask a question on her way to the next tee.

“What did Annika shoot today?” she asked.

Told that Sorenstam had a 2-under-par 70 in the morning, Ochoa nodded her head, then she made sure she was one better.

Ochoa didn’t finish in the lead, but she was close enough to be satisfied with her start at Havre de Grace, Md. Four birdies on her flawless back nine at Bulle Rock gave her a 3-under 69, leaving Ochoa three shots behind Lorie Kane of Canada and Emily Bastel as she tries to become only the fourth woman to win three straight majors.

Neither of the leaders have had a top 10 all year, and Kane has struggled to make cuts. But they found their way across a long and soggy golf course, which took on so much rain overnight that fairways felt like carpet in a home that had been flooded.

Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum shot a 70 and is tied for 18th. Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., opened with a 74.

PGA

Boo Weekley made the most of his time after missing the cut in the Memorial, with his work around the greens at TPC Southwind at Memphis, Tenn., paying off.

Combining his usual strong ballstriking with efficient putting, Weekley shot a 5-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the Stanford St. Jude Championship.