Wie, Sorenstam Advance in Match Play

GLADSTONE, N.J. (AP) _ Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam moved another step closer to a final-round showdown in the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship. <br/><br/>With her mother shouting ``Good

Friday, July 7th 2006, 8:38 am

By: News On 6

GLADSTONE, N.J. (AP) _ Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam moved another step closer to a final-round showdown in the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship.

With her mother shouting ``Good shot, Michelle!'' after each booming drive, the 16-year-old Wie beat friend Christina Kim 3 and 2 on Friday in the second round. The top-seeded Sorenstam beat Heather Young, also 3 and 2.

Wie advanced to a third-round match against LPGA Championship winner Se Ri Pak, while Sorenstam will play former Duke star Brittany Lang. Pak beat Lorie Kane 1-up and Lang eliminated Seon-Hwa Lee 3 and 2 on the hilly Hamilton Farm course.

``I feel like I'm playing very solidly,'' Wie said. ``Obviously, tomorrow is a whole other day and you never know what might happen when you wake up.''

Sorenstam won the first two holes against Young, but dropped Nos. 4-5 and made the turn all square. The Swedish star then won Nos. 10, 12 and 13 and halved the next three holes with pars to end the match.

``It was a good match,'' Sorenstam said. ``I'm quite happy with the way I played.''

Sorenstam began the week with a four-shot playoff victory over Pat Hurst on Monday in the U.S. Women's Open in Newport, R.I., then beat Virada Nirapathpongporn 3 and 2 in the first round Thursday.

``I'm on such a high that I'm not even thinking that I should be tired,'' Sorenstam said. ``I'm just looking forward to coming back tomorrow.''

Wie won all four par-5s with birdies, finished with seven birdies and had two three-putt bogeys in 16 holes. She's playing her fourth event in five weeks, a welcome change from her usual light tournament schedule.

``I like this a lot better,'' Wie said. ``It's a lot harder to play one tournament, have more than a month off and then play in another. I really look forward to the summer where I have a lot of tournaments, where I can play almost every week.''

With about 400 people following Wie and Kim, Wie won the par-5 second with a 10-foot birdie putt and took a 2-up lead with a two-putt par on the par-3 third.

Kim rebounded with a birdie on the par-4 fifth, halved the par-4 sixth with a birdie and pulled even with a 13-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh. Kim then birdied the par-4 eighth to take the lead.

``Obviously, we're pretty close and it's tough to put that out of your mind,'' Wie said. ``You just have to think that she's just another opponent and try your hardest.''

Wie tied it with a birdie on the par-5 ninth, took the lead with another birdie on the par-5 11th and went 2-up with a birdie on the par-3 12th. Kim got a hole back with a par on the par-4 13th after Wie missed a 3-foot putt, but Wie countered with a birdie on the par-5 14th. They halved the par-4 15th _ with Wie topping Kim's 18-foot birdie putt with a 12-footer _ and Wie ended the match with a par on the par-4 16th.

``I wasn't able to capitalize on the par-5s,'' Kim said. ``I gave myself a lot of opportunities, but it just didn't pan out.''

Juli Inkster remained in position for a possible quarterfinal match against Sorenstam, beating Catriona Matthew 4 and 3. The eighth-seeded Inkster will face Marcy Hart _ a 4-and-3 winner over Liselotte Neumann _ on Saturday morning, with the survivor advancing to face the Sorenstam-Lang winner.

In the bottom half of the upper bracket, fifth-seeded Paula Creamer beat defending champion Marisa Baena 5 and 3 to set up a third-round match against Morgan Pressel, a 2-and-1 winner over 2005 runner-up Meena Lee.

``Unfortunately, I did not hit the ball very well today and Paula played unbelievable,'' Baena said. ``She played great and she beat me.''

The 19-year-old Creamer and 18-year-old Pressel played each other many times in match play in their junior careers.

``We've known each other for a very long time,'' Pressel said. ``She an unbelievable player and we're both tough competitors. I think it's going to be a very good match. We're going to have to make lots of birdies, that's for sure.''

Because of heavy rain early in the week, the players were again allowed to lift, clean and place their balls in the fairways and fringe.