Tseng leads Ginn Open; Ochoa three back

Tseng, an LPGA Tour rookie from Taiwan, broke the Ginn Reunion Resort course record of 65 set by Cristie Kerr in 2006. She stood at 12-under 132 overall for a two-shot lead over Suzann Pettersen.

"But I still hope I can break my record," said Tseng. "Sixty-two is my record."

Pettersen had a 66 to pull within two shots at 10-under 134, with Lorena Ochoa (67) and Minea Blomqvist (66) another shot further back at nine-under 135.

Ochoa, who qualified for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame with a victory in her native Mexico last week, entered this week a winner of three straight tournaments and four of her five starts this season.

Her 67 on Friday was flawless, though a lukewarm start of eight consecutive pars left her treading water near the top of the leaderboard. Four birdies in a five-hole stretch got her going.

The first came on a seven-foot putt at the ninth, followed by a tap-in birdie at the 10th. She rolled in a 13-foot putt at the 12th, then made it back-to- back birdies again with a 20-footer at the 13th.

Ochoa made her last birdie at the par-five 17th, knocking it onto the front of the green with a five-wood and two-putting for her four.

She was happy with the score.

"On the front it was a little bit slower. I keep missing my birdie putts, but I thought, 'Just be patient,'" said Ochoa, who has claimed her four wins this season by an average of 8 1/2 shots. "From there I just got good momentum and kept it going. I'm happy to be at nine-under and ready for the weekend."

Tseng, 19, started her round with a birdie at the first hole and never let up. She collected four consecutive birdies from the third, then another at the ninth to make the turn in just 30 shots.

Two more birdies followed at the 10th and 11th, then another at the 15th. Tseng dropped her only shot of the round at the 18th, where she hit an errant drive into a fairway bunker and two-putted from 17 feet.

"I think I was just trying too hard on the last three holes," she said.

Tseng, who played in the U.S. Women's Open in 2005 and 2006, tied for sixth place in her only start last year at the CN Canadian Women's Open. She has made the cut in each of her six starts this season and posted a career-best finish at the MasterCard Classic last month when she was a runner-up to Louise Friberg.

"I'm excited for tomorrow," said Tseng, who hoped that she would end up in a group with Ochoa on Saturday -- though that didn't happen

"It's kind of like dream I play with No. 1 in the world," she said.

Teresa Lu and Carin Koch both shot rounds of three-under 69 and were tied for fifth place at eight-under 136. Angela Stanford (68), Young Kim (69) and Juli Inkster (69) were two shots further back at six-under 138.

The cut line fell at one-over 145 with 82 players moving on to the weekend.

Defending champion Brittany Lincicome was among those who missed the cut.