Fri Apr 11 21:06:46 2008

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Ochoa leads Corona Championship by a shot

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Morelia, Mexico (Sports Network) - Lorena Ochoa moved closer to yet another victory on Friday, shooting her second consecutive seven-under 66 to take sole possession of the lead after two rounds of the Corona Championship.

Playing in her native Mexico, Ochoa stood at 14-under 132 for a tenuous one- shot cushion on Inbee Park.

The 2006 Corona champion, Ochoa is fresh off winning her second major at last week's Kraft Nabisco Championship. She has 17 victories in the last 24 months and needs just one point to qualify for the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame.

That point is easily within reach now, though Ochoa would have to wait until she has played 10 years to actually be inducted.

It would be just one more accolade for the Mexican star on a long list of recent accomplishments that includes being the No. 1 women's player in the world for nearly a year.

And she has the opportunity to do it in front of her rabid fans.

For the second day in a row, Ochoa said she managed to keep all of those distractions from her mind, concentrating only on her score.

"I'm going to for sure try to keep it up and go low one of the next two days," she said. "I think we have good conditions tomorrow and if it's not windy, we can go low. Hopefully we can do it."

Park went low on Friday, firing a nine-under 64 to climb into solo second place behind Ochoa at 13-under 133. Park had 10 birdies with just one bogey.

Song-Hee Kim, the 19-year-old Korean who shared the first-round lead with Ochoa, was at 11-under 135 following a 69.

Na Yeon Choi (69) was at nine-under 137, Sun Young Yoo (65) stood at eight- under 138, Hee Young Park (70) was at seven-under 139, and there were only four more players within 10 shots of Ochoa.

Beginning with a chip-in birdie at the first hole Friday, Ochoa played flawless golf to remain at the top of the leaderboard. She strung together three straight birdies from the fourth hole, all set up by wedge shots that landed inside 10 feet.

Ochoa knocked a nine-iron to five feet at the 10th for another birdie, then made her last birdie on a four-foot putt at the 13th. She parred out the remainder of her holes for her 19th 36-hole lead on the LPGA Tour.

"No bogies, I enjoyed that very much," said Ochoa. "We had great galleries and a lot of people who came to watch us play, which is very good. I just really enjoyed the day. Hopefully we have a couple more of those and take a run at the title on Sunday."

Ochoa is 8-8 when holding the second-round lead in 72-hole tournaments on the LPGA Tour. Behind her were a host of Korean players all seeking their first tour wins -- which Ochoa saw as a good thing.

"It makes you concentrate more and get more aggressive and really try to go low," she said. "It brings good things."

The cut fell at seven-over 153 with 71 players in a field of 96 making it to the weekend.

Defending champion Silvia Cavalleri, who beat Ochoa and Julieta Granada by two shots last year, was among those who made the cut, though she was 16 shots back.