MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) — Paula Creamer is one of the best golfers in the world and in contention at the Ginn Tribute.
It's easy to see why she is smiling.
"I mean, geez, I'm 20 years old out here playing good golf," Creamer said, chuckling when asked why she seemed so happy.
Creamer had more good things happen in Friday's second round with a 71, her continued solid play leaving her in third place at 5-under par and four shots behind leader Lorena Ochoa.
Creamer wasn't ready to concede anything to Ochoa, the world's No. 1 player looking for her third LPGA Tour victory.
"I feel good. There's a lot of golf left," Creamer said. "I like where I'm sitting and I feel very confident in my game."
Ochoa has been the best so far on the fast, dry conditions at RiverTowne Country Club. She shot a 67 — her sixth straight round under 70 — and moved out to a three-stroke lead over first-day leader Angela Park, a tour rookie.
"I'm just trying to enjoy this as much as I can," Ochoa said. "I like to be in a good position for the weekend, and I'm here."
Although, it could be a very different course the players see next. Tropical Storm Barry led tournament organizers to group players in threesomes and send them off both the first and 10th tees starting at 7 a.m. EDT.
"With the weather approaching, you never know what's going to happen," Creamer said.
No matter the conditions, Ochoa's been very predictable. She rose to No. 1 during the nearly two-month absence of Annika Sorenstam and has won twice on the LPGA Tour this season.
On Friday, Ochoa carded only one score higher than 4, a par on the par-5 ninth hole, and continued her stellar run with her sixth straight round under 70.
"I'm just trying to enjoy it as much as I can," Ochoa said.
The focus this week had been highly anticipated returns from injury of two of women's golf's biggest names — former No. 1 and tournament host Sorenstam and 17-year-old Michelle Wie.
But with Sorenstam, 1 under after a 71, not close to 100 percent and Wie's withdrawal Thursday after going 14 over for 16 holes, the friendly, polite 25-year-old star from Mexico has so far stolen the show.
She caught tour rookie Park with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 fifth hole, then took the lead for good with a 5-foot birdie putt on another par 5, the 11th.
Ochoa added two more birdies, including one after landing in a bunker near the green in two on the par-5 16th.
Despite rising to the top, Ochoa has not changed.
"Nothing is very different. I'm the same," she said. "I feel good and I feel comfortable. I believe in myself and I have faith that I can control all the things that I can control."
Sorenstam came into this inaugural, $2.6 million event with modest hopes. However, when she followed up a first-hole bogey with a birdie and an eagle, the old Annika rushed back.
"It was a fun feeling," Sorenstam said. "I was even par and not looking at the leaders. Now. I'm 2-under par and I'm staring down the leaderboard."
Sorenstam, though, knew her distance and strength were lacking. Soon enough, everyone else found out as well as she made only one more birdie the rest of the way.
Still, Sorenstam was again pleased with her comeback. "It was fun. I'm enjoying myself out there," she said. "As I said, my expectations are not very high."
Teenager MacKinzie Kline, the first in LPGA history to use a cart because of a medical condition, was withdrawn from the tournament because she shot an 89, one more than the tour's "88 rule" that Wie flirted with before withdrawing Thursday.
Kline, called "Mac" by friends and family, is barred from LPGA sponsored events through year's end.
The 15-year-old was more than pleased with her experience. "It was so much fun playing," Kline said.
){kind=link}