Lee Shoots 60 in LPGA Tour Season Opener

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) _ Jung Yeon Lee has been trying to emulate Se Ri Pak. <br><br>In the first round of the LPGA's opening tournament, Lee outdid her _ and nearly matched Annika Sorenstam's most

Friday, March 12th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) _ Jung Yeon Lee has been trying to emulate Se Ri Pak.

In the first round of the LPGA's opening tournament, Lee outdid her _ and nearly matched Annika Sorenstam's most famous round.

Lee, who attributes the influx of South Korean players on the Tour to Pak, matched the second-lowest LPGA round ever with a 10-under 60 Thursday, taking a three-shot lead in the Welch's/Fry's Championship.

``Beginning with Se Ri starting to be famous in Korea, everybody's trying to play the LPGA,'' said Lee, a third-year LPGA veteran who won one title on the Korean LPGA Tour in 1999.

The 25-year-old Lee wasn't aware that she had a chance to shoot the second 59 in women's golf when she missed a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 17th hole and a 10-footer on the 18th.

``My caddie (Colin Cann) told me, `Yeah, 59,''' she said. ``I said, 'What?'''

The three lowest scores on the women's circuit have come in Arizona.

Sorenstam's 13-under, second-round tour de force at Phoenix's Moon Valley Country Club in 2001 remains the LPGA standard for raw score and score in relation to par. Meg Mallon had a 60 in Tucson last year, the first for the event on the cozy Dell Urich Course in Randolph Park.

Past Tucson events were played on the par-72 Randolph North course.

Laura Davies said everyone in the field watched Lee's red numbers go up.

``It would have been nice to see, because if there is a chance to shoot 59, this the week,'' said Davies, who had a 65. ``If someone can get good early morning conditions when the greens are rolling a bit better, you can do it. And she proved it.''

Karen Stupples was second with a 63, with Davies and rookie Seol-An Jeon five shots off the lead. Eva Dahllof, Jackie Gallagher-Smith and Stacy Prammanasudh were at 66.

Pak began her pursuit of the final victory she needs to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame with a 67, joining a group of four tied for eighth after bogeying the 16th and 17th holes.

But nobody mastered the 6,176-yard municipal layout like Lee, who had two eagles and six birdies through 16 holes.

``I'm a little bit nervous because, you know, first tournament of this year, and then actually on my practice round, I had some injury _ my wrist,'' she said. ``So my expectation was pretty low. Just focus (on) my game.''

Lee eagled the 511-yard third hole with a 15-yard chip and made a 17-foot eagle putt on the 502-yard 13th.

Despite her aching right wrist, which she sprained in practice Wednesday, she also birdied the fourth, sixth, seventh, ninth, 15th and 16th holes.

Stupples had a career-low round, reeling off six of her eight birdies after bogeying the sixth hole _ the easiest par-5 on the course at 490 yards _ with a three-putt green.

``I hit the ball really well,'' Stupples said. ``I didn't take advantage of most of the par-5s on the front nine like I should have done, because I can get to both of those very easily.''

Davies' late charge for a share of second fizzled after she got to 6-under with an eagle on No. 13. She bogeyed the next hole when her 8-iron approach shot carried over the green, and she two-putted from 12 feet after chipping on.

``I played very solid,'' said Davies, who won the Women's Australian Open on Monday. ``I think I missed three greens in the end, so that was a pretty good effort.''