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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) -From the beginning, it felt like a weekend duel. And because of the way Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa played, the Michelob Ultra Open is headed in that direction.
Ochoa started with a birdie on the first hole, pulling her even with the playing partner she replaced as the No. 1 female golfer in the world. Two holes later, Sorenstam answered. Sorenstam did it again at the par-4 16th, rolling in a birdie putt from about 8 feet away after Ochoa briefly drew even with a tap-in from an inch.
So it went Friday, where sometimes driving rain and two weather delays did little to put a damper on a friendly matchup between the LPGA's biggest stars.
Sorenstam followed a 64 with a 66, leaving her at 12 under, three better than Ochoa, whose bogey at the last hole gave her 68, and Jeong Jang.
"I'm right there, so I'm excited," Ochoa said.
The day wasn't as good for Michelle Wie. Playing in her first tournament in 2 1/2 months, the Stanford freshman followed a 4-over 75 with a 71 and missed the cut by four strokes.
"I just feel really rusty," she said after making a birdie on the final hole to finish even on the day. "I feel like I just need to play more. ... I feel like I can get it back."
Twelve strokes off the pace at the start of the day, Wie took a backseat to the pairing that had Ochoa, Sorenstam and defending champion Suzann Pettersen playing together. Several thousand fans were waiting for them either at the 10th tee, where they started, or along the fairway, hoping to see the start of a competition usually reserved for weekends on the tour.
Ochoa, who has won half of the first 10 events so far this season, upped the ante when she rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the first hole, No. 10, celebrating with a fist pump.
But Sorenstam was better, again going bogey-free over the 6,315-yard River Course.
"I can't remember the last time that was but, you know, anything can really happen on this course," she said of one of the few courses where she hasn't won. "I'm just trying to play smart. I'm trying to play, you know, conservative at times and aggressive at other times."
And the fans were into it all the way, braving the often difficult conditions.
During their round, one woman shouted "Viva Mexico!" right before Ochoa backed away from a 5-foot birdie putt, then stepped up and missed it. When Sorenstam hit her 50-yard third shot on the par-4 ninth hole to 3 feet, a man called out "Nice shot, Annika. Welcome back."
