Je-Ro almost zero; Sorenstam at helm

Jennifer Rosales lost her touch with a nagging wrist injury and failed to overcome the perils offered by the Superstition Mountain Golf Course in Arizona Friday, struggling with a two-over-par 74 to slide out of the Magic 10 after the second round of the $1.2 million Safeway Golf Classic.

Rosales, continuing to defy her doctor’s advice to rest her injured wrist, had five bogeys against only three birdies in a big turnaround from her near flawless round of 67 Thursday that put her in second place with Swede ace Annika Sorenstam and Korean bet Mi Yung Kim, three shots behind leader Mi Saiki.

With her roller-coaster second round, the Filipina ace fell from second to a share of 16th place, now 11 strokes behind new pacesetter Sorenstam.

Fil-Am bet Dorothy Delasin rallied with a 66 after a 79 and barely made the cut for the second straight tourney in the LPGA Tour. She did the same in last week’s Welch’s Fry Championship where Rosales withdrew because of her wrist injury.

Delasin knocked in birdies on Nos. 2, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17 and 18 against a bogey on No. 6.

Sorenstam stormed to the top of the leaderboard after carding a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 that she hopes leaves room for improvement over the weekend.

It was the second round on the LPGA Tour this year for Sorenstam, the Swedish superstar who skipped the US season-opening event last week in Tuczon.

She won her first start of the year in Australia in February.

Sorenstam is her own harshest critic. Asked if she is in midseason form after grabbing a one-stroke lead over Christie Kerr, Sorenstam was her usual self.

"Well, I hope it gets better from there," she said.

Sorenstam, who already has qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame and undoubtedly is the best female golfer in the world, reached 12-under 132 after 36 holes. Kerr was a stroke back, with South Korean star Se Ri Pak alone in third, three shots off the pace.

Michelle Wie was a distant 13th at five-under 139, but the 14-year-old from Hawaii showed fans why she has attracted so much hype by carding a 67. She totaled eight birdies and three bogeys.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Rosales’ brother Gerald missed the cut in the Singapore Caltex Masters after going one-over halfway through the tournament at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club course.

Local bet Mardan Mamat shot a four-under 68 to take the temporary lead with 12 entries unable to complete the second round because of rains. (With reports from AFP)