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--> --> Jill McGill blows birdie putt on No. 18 at Southern Pines. AP Weather dooms Women's Open SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (AP) - Everyone wanted to know how Annika Sorenstam played, what the pregnant women shot and whether the 13-year-old player kept her cool. A series of soap opera-like dramas that developed prior to the 56th U.S. Women's Open gave way to actual golf Thursday. But play was halted at 11:18 a.m. today by lightning in the area. Golfers were back on the course 30 minutes later, but a stormy day was predicted. Defending champion Karrie Webb was making a move prior to the stoppage, going to 3-under through 12 holes after an opening-round par-70 to tie co-leaders A.J. Eathorne and Cindy Figg-Currier. Those two had not teed off prior to the delay. The real winner after 18 holes was the Donald Ross-designed course at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club, which yielded just nine rounds under par. Sorenstam, the best women's player in the world this season with five LPGA wins and a 59 to her credit, was average by her standards, shooting an even-par 70. But the winner of the '96 Open at Pine Needles was positioned well within striking distance Eathorne of Canada and Figg-Currier, who each shot 3-under 67s. "It's not an easy golf course," said Sorenstam, who also started with a 70 when she shot 8 under here five years ago. "Obviously, you have to be patient and go from here." Sorenstam had an uncharacteristic up-and-down round, carding four birdies, 11 pars, two bogeys and one double bogey. She wasn't exactly thrilled with her 8 a.m. tee time, either. "I got up at 5 a.m.," she said. "That was really early. It's kind of hard to wake up and get loose." Brenda Corrie Kuehn, playing eight months pregnant, also had a rough start, going 8 over on the front nine before shooting a 79. The 36-year-old amateur from Asheville held up pretty well walking 18 holes in her condition, except when she doubled over after her drive on No. 11. A contraction hit her in the middle of a swing. "Ideally, I would like to be a little fly and play my 18 holes and go home," Kuehn said of the attention. One fan yelled, "One for the baby" when Kuehn saved par on No. 17 with a 7-footer. Kuehn got a surprise when she walked to the first tee and found another expectant mother in her threesome - Jennifer Greggain, who is 21 weeks along. Meanwhile, teen-ager Morgan Pressell, who goes to Omni Middle School in Boca Raton, Fla., and is the youngest qualifier in U.S. Women's Open history, carded a birdie on her final hole to shoot 77. The score for the 13-year-old Pressell was good enough to beat 20 pros. While Pressell held up well on the 6,256-yard course, she broke down during her postround interviews, crying and saying she could have played better. "At the first hole, the gallery was big, then as I kept bogeying, it got a little smaller," the straight-A student said, laughing. "I didn't know I had that many friends." Juli Inkster, one of only two Americans to win on the LPGA Tour this year, overcame an early double bogey for a 68 and was tied with Mi Hyun Kim and Jill McGill at 2 under. The only other players to break par were Se Ri Pak, Cristie Kerr, Dina Ammaccapane and amateur Stephanie Keever at 69. Eathorne has missed cuts in seven of her last 10 LPGA events, and she wasn't particularly sharp Thursday. During her practice round, Eathorne replaced her 4-iron with a 9-wood. It came in handy as she missed nine greens and seven of 14 fairways. The club enabled her to hack it out of the rough and led to just 24 putts - which tied for the lead after 18 holes. "I used that club numerous times, just popping it up 150 yards and letting it roll on the green," Eathorne said. "It was a scrambling round, but I had fun out there with it." Figg-Currier has missed eight of 11 Open cuts in her career and has just one LPGA win in 18 years. But she had five birdies Thursday to move to the top of the leader board early. "The intent of the USGA is to value par as a good score," Figg-Currier said. "And I believe this golf course is set up that way." Inkster agreed, saying Pine Needles likely won't surrender many good scores this week, especially as the pressure mounts during the weekend. "You've got to manage your game around here," Inkster said. "And it's tough. If you're not hitting the ball well, believe me, a course like this will show it real quick." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing