Sorenstam, Jones share lead

AURORA, Ill., May 30 (UPI) -- In her return to the LPGA Tour Friday, Annika Sorenstam flirted with history and broke her own course record with a 10-under-par 62 to share the lead at the Kellogg-Keebler Classic.

Sorenstam took advantage of soft conditions early Friday, but ended the day in a tie for the lead with Rosie Jones, who finished a 62 with consecutive birdies. The co-leaders had a three-stroke lead over Canada's Lorie Kane and Angela Stanford.

A week after playing in a PGA Tour event, Sorenstam burned Stonebridge Country Club, totaling eight birdies, two eagles and two bogeys. She had thoughts of her second career 59 after she reached 9-under with an eagle at No. 14.

"There were four left and I was 9-under at the time, and I added it up," said Sorenstam, who carded the only 59 on the LPGA Tour two years ago in Phoenix. "That would be a magic number again, so I was playing a little aggressive."

Sorenstam, who last year matched a tour record with an 11-shot victory here, played Nos. 15-17 in 1-over, but finished with a tap-in eagle. She was pleased with a round that began with eight birdies in 11 bogey-free holes.

"I did not make a lot of mistakes at all," she said. "I hit a lot of greens, I hit a lot of good drives. Very, very pleased the way I played."

So was Jones, who started her day with a birdie at the 10th, made the turn in 5-under and added five more birdies on the front side. The key to her round was a putter that dropped five birdies between 17-20 feet.

"I haven't really had my putting stroke, really up until today, for the whole year," she said. "Even when I won in Mount Vintage down in Augusta, I left birdies out there, and I didn't today."

Stanford knows how difficult it will be to catch the world's top-ranked player. She is from Fort Worth, where last week Sorenstam became the first woman in 58 years to compete in a PGA Tour event while missing the cut at the Colonial.

"I've played Colonial and I know she played extremely well to shoot what she did last week and she had to be on top of her game," Stanford said.

Sorenstam shot rounds of 71-74 at the Colonial, beating 11 men