Sorenstam, Ochoa Advance at Wykagyl

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) _ Annika Sorenstam got exactly what she wanted _ and then some _ in the first round of the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship. <br/><br/>Making her fourth start since

Friday, July 20th 2007, 7:41 am

By: News On 6

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) _ Annika Sorenstam got exactly what she wanted _ and then some _ in the first round of the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship.

Making her fourth start since returning from disk injuries in her back and neck, the 36-year-old Swede outlasted 62nd-seeded Katherine Hull in 20 holes Thursday in hazy and humid conditions at Wykagyl Country Club.

``It's key for me to just get to play and the more holes the better,'' said Sorenstam, seeded third in the 64-player event. ``It's good for me to really get some pressure on myself again. I really haven't had that this year because I really haven't been in contention or I just haven't even played.''

All square after 12 holes, Sorenstam and Hull each won three of the final six holes of regulation. Sorenstam took the 219-yard 13th with a par and won the 16th and 17th with birdies, while the Australian won 14, 15 and 18 with birdies.

``It was a thriller. There was a lot of drama,'' said Sorenstam, a stroke-play winner at Wykagyl in 1998 and 2000.

After halving the first extra hole with a par, Sorenstam won the match with a conceded par on the par-4 second. Hull made a double bogey, hitting into two bunkers.

``I'm just going to keep giving myself opportunities and keep working hard,'' Hull said. ``I think I can compete out here and win tournaments.''

Top-seeded Lorena Ochoa easily advanced, while No. 2 Karrie Webb, major winners Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel and 2006 winner Brittany Lincicome were eliminated.

Ochoa, the 2006 Sybase Classic winner at Wykagyl, routed South African teenager Ashleigh Simon 6 and 5, matching the largest margin of victory in the three-year history of the event.

``It was a good day,'' Ochoa said. ``In match play, it's always important to get off to a good start. ... I hope to keep going the same the next few days.''

Charlotte Mayorkas, at No. 63 the highest seed to advance in tournament history, beat Webb with a birdie on No. 18. Down three holes after five, Mayorkas tied Webb with a birdie on No. 12.

``You've just got to stay focused,'' Mayorkas said. ``Even though you're down, you've just got to keep going with it.''

The fourth-seeded Kerr, the U.S. Women's Open champion, dropped a 5-and-4 decision to 61st-seeded Amy Hung, while 59th-seeded Birdie Kim again got the best of the sixth-seeded Pressel, beating the Kraft Nabisco winner 2-up. Two years ago, Kim holed out from a bunker to beat Pressel in the U.S. Women's Open.

``I just played terrible,'' Pressel said.

Lincicome, seeded 13th, lost 4 and 3 to longtime European Solheim Cup standout Carin Koch, while LPGA Championship winner Suzann Pettersen, the No. 7 seed, advanced with a 19-hole victory over In-Bee Park.

``I'm happy that I played decent,'' Lincicome said. ``I didn't just give it to her completely. She was making 5-footers to save par, and 20-footers like they were nothing. She just had a great day. You can't take anything away from her.''

Koch, seeded 52nd, saved par on the par-4 14th after driving into a concession stand and ended the match on 15 with another up-and-down par after a poor drive.

``We were both struggling a little bit off the tee,'' Koch said. ``I managed to get it up and down a few times and made some really clutch putts.''

In other upsets, 56th-seeded Hye Jung Choi beat ninth-seeded Juli Inkster 4 and 3, and 54th-seeded Janice Moodie edged 11th-seeded Ji-Yai Shin in 19 holes.

``I played poorly,'' said Inkster, a finalist last year. ``She played very well and was very consistent. I got what I deserved.''

Ochoa, the tour leader with three victories this year, will face local favorite Meaghan Francella _ a 2-and-1 winner over Meena Lee _ on Friday and could meet eighth-seeded Paula Creamer in the quarterfinals.

``The greens, even though they had rain yesterday, were a lot faster today than they were in the pro-am,'' Ochoa said. ``I think I did a really good job with the speed on the greens. That's going to be a key this week.''

Creamer beat Giulia Sergas 4 and 3.

``I worked on my swing a lot this year, so it was good to go out and play competitively,'' said Creamer, the 2005 Sybase winner at Wykagyl.

Fifth-seeded Se Ri Pak, coming off her fifth Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic victory Sunday, beat Beth Bader 2-up to set up a second-round match against Christina Kim, a 3-and-2 winner over U.S. Solheim Cup partner Natalie Gulbis.