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NEWPORT, R.I. -- The U.S. Women's Open has proved to be perhaps Annika Sorenstam's most elusive goal for the last 10 years, one she either wasn't prepared to attain or one that was simply taken from her.
After back-to-back victories in 1995-96, she appeared destined to build her collection of majors around this title. Since then, Sorenstam has won three Kraft Nabisco Championships, three McDonald's LPGA Championships and one Weetabix Women's British Open, but she needed several years to understand why this one always escaped her.
"I won two in a row and thought, 'Wow, I've got this,'" Sorenstam says. "And I came out and expected the same thing, and it never happened. I felt like I beat up on myself. I felt I was in my own way."
The U.S. Open is an endurance test of nerves and skill, but after Thursday's first round at Newport Country Club was fogged out, it will become a grueling Sunday marathon.
After 18 holes Friday and Saturday, the remaining 60 players and anyone within 10 strokes of the lead face a 36-hole final round. The weather is expected to cooperate, and if Sorenstam wants to end her Open winless streak at nine, she'll need to jettison the error-prone play that's left her with one victory this year and dropped her to sixth on the LPGA money list.
Sorenstam freely admits she hasn't been her dominant self. By her standards, she's missing fairways at an alarming rate and is tied for 79th in driving accuracy. Ditto for greens in regulation, ranking 10th. She's 62nd in putts per round, averaging 29.64, and her putter has turned cold at those key junctures when a round's momentum is at stake.
"The stats say a lot," she says. "I've had some great moments, but I've also had some moments that have been very, very up and down. I make a birdie, maybe three in a row, and make three bogeys. I make a lot more mistakes on the course."
Sorenstam skipped the season's first two events in Hawaii, then dropped a victory in the MasterCard Classic on the field's psyche. The South Koreans took control from there, winning six of 12 tournaments -- eight of 15 on the season -- leaving Sorenstam 0-for-8 and searching for answers.
Still, Sorenstam hasn't been bad: cut once, one finish outside the top 10 (tie for 19th in the Safeway International in March), two ties for second and a fourth place.
"Annika is still playing well. She just hasn't won six tournaments by this time," says Karrie Webb, who won consecutive U.S. Opens in 2000-01.
"I think what isn't appreciated enough is the standard of golf she's played for all the years. It's a fine line. One or two shots, and she's probably got three or four tournaments under her belt. To expect her to continue that level every year when no one appreciates it is a lot to ask."
A year ago at Cherry Hills outside Denver she was chasing the third leg of the Grand Slam and en route to 10 victories. A final-round 77 ended her bid and added to the U.S. Open disappointments that included being beaten by Juli Inkster in 2003 and Meg Mallon in 2004.
Sorenstam didn't play her first practice round here until Tuesday afternoon. The damp conditions are expected to force many players into longer approach shots.
"I don't mind hitting a longer club into a smaller green," she says.
Her strategy also includes putting less pressure on herself to become the sixth player with at least three Women's Open titles.
"This is just a tough one to win," Sorenstam says. "A lot of things have to go right to win this. I know it's been a long time ago, but I still remember it very, very clearly."
*View an in-progress U.S. Women's Open leaderboard at golf.usatoday.com
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