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Written by Canadian Press
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Michelle Wie could end up making the final LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock an unforgettable event.
Wie shot a 2-under 70 on Thursday to put herself in contention for her first win on the LPGA Tour. The 19-year-old turned pro in 2005, but this marks the first year she's playing as a tour member.
Thus, she's still considered to be a rookie.
Wie already has three top-10 finishes this year, and an improved putter helped her finish Thursday with three birdies on the back nine. If Wie makes a run this weekend, Bulle Rock can expect an overflow crowd Sunday for its final round as home of the LPGA Championship.
The tournament will lose McDonald's as a sponsor after this year and has not settled on a site for 2010.
Wie would love her first win to come this weekend, especially because the tournament is a major that pays the winner a cool US$300,000. But Wie's expectations this year transcend collecting big paycheques.
"I'm having so much fun playing almost every week and travelling to different places," she said. "The main goal for me is to have a lot of fun, play my hardest, try my hardest. Win, for sure. And get on the Solheim Cup team."
On Thursday, Wie had her lone bogey on No. 3. She closed the back nine with pars on the next six holes, then had three birdies on the back nine to finish five shots behind leader Nicole Castrale.
"I've been working on my putting a lot, so hopefully it's a lot better," Wie said. "I missed a couple of short putts early on, but it was good, too."
After the summer, Wie intends to return to Stanford to resume another important quest: earning a college degree.
"It's definitely one of my biggest goals," she said. "I'm planning to go back in the fall quarter."
NOW HEAR THIS: In an effort to expand its fan base, the LPGA Tour has asked its players to share their thoughts with fans on twitter.com.
Taking the lines of communication even further, Christina Kim played Thursday while wearing a microphone. She bemoaned her bad shots, kidded with her playing partner (Wie) and generally kept a running conversation going throughout her round of 71.
The outgoing Kim was a perfect choice for that kind of banter. Then there's Angela Stanford, who isn't nearly as comfortable sharing her innermost feelings.
"I just don't have anything to say," Stanford said. "I'm the world's worst Tweeter or Twitterer."
Paula Creamer won't Tweet while lining up a putt, but said, "Overall, I think it's pretty neat to correspond with your fans. Lately it's been a lot about the (Orlando) Magic."
Creamer was born in California but went to high school in Florida.
DOUBLE THE POINTS: Two of the LPGA Tour's most prestigious annual awards could be impacted by the results of the LPGA Championship.
Points for the Rolex Player of the Year Award and Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year are doubled, meaning the winner will receive 60 points toward player of the year honours. A rookie will receive 300 points with a win.
Lorena Ochoa began the tournament with a 1-point lead over Cristie Kerr for player of the year. For the rookies, Jiyai Shin was 209 points ahead of Wie.
Ochoa shot a 72 Thursday, Kerr opened with a 76 and Shin carded a 73.
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Written by Associated Press
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J.D. Drew hit an RBI single to spark an eighth-inning rally, then scored the go-ahead run on Mike Lowell's fly ball Thursday night to help the Boston Red Sox beat New York 4-3 and improve to 8-0 against the Yankees this year.
It's the first time the Red Sox have opened the season with eight straight wins against their New York rivals since they helped christen the brand-new Fenway Park by winning the first 14 matchups against the Highlanders in 1912.
The teams don't meet again until Aug. 6.
Takashi Saito (1-0) earned his first AL victory with four outs of scoreless relief, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 16th save. David Ortiz hit his third homer in five games.
Brad Penny pitched six shutout innings before the Yankees scored three times off Manny Delcarmen in the seventh to take a 3-1 lead. After cruising through seven innings, CC Sabathia (5-4) ran into trouble when Nick Green hit a leadoff single and Dustin Pedroia walked.
Drew singled to make it 3-2 and chase Sabathia after a season-high 123 pitches. Alfredo Aceves gave up a single to Kevin Youkilis to load the bases, and then another base hit to Jason Bay that tied it. Lowell hit a shallow fly ball to left-center, and Drew scored as Melky Cabrera's throw bounced into the infield behind him.
Ortiz hit his fourth homer of the season in the second inning to make it 1-0, and it stayed that way until Penny left the game and Cabrera singled to lead off the seventh. Francisco Cervelli doubled to tie it, then Johnny Damon walked with one out and Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run double to give the Yankees their first lead of the series.
Rodriguez was also in the middle of it in the first inning, when Penny plunked him in the back with a pitch. After a meeting of the umpires, both benches were warned and there were no further problems.
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Written by Associated Press
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Bengie Molina homered and drove in three runs, Brian Wilson struck out the side for his seventh straight save, and the San Francisco Giants defeated the error-prone Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 on Wednesday night.
Molina hit a two-run homer in a four-run third inning as the Giants took a 5-1 lead against Doug Davis (3-7). Molina added an RBI single in the ninth.
Wilson struck out the top of the Diamondbacks' order — Felipe Lopez, Ryan Roberts and Justin Upton — to record his 16th save in 19 chances and lock up the victory for Barry Zito (3-6), who went five shaky innings.
It was another abysmal fielding effort by the Diamondbacks, who followed up Tuesday night's three-error game with three more errors. Two of the blunders were costly.
In the first, Davis threw a pickoff attempt past first base, allowing Aaron Rowand to take second. Rowand moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Edgar Renteria's sacrifice fly.
Molina gave the Giants a 3-1 lead in the third with a two-run home run into the pool area in right-center field, his team-leading ninth homer and his first since May 12.
Then center fielder Chris Young was charged with an error after making a long run to chase down Andres Torres' drive to deep center field. Two runs scored on the play, giving San Francisco a 5-1 lead.
But Zito, who is working on a $126-million, seven-year contract, gave most of the lead back in the fifth on five straight hits, including an RBI single by Upton and a two-run double by Stephen Drew.
Zito gave up four runs and seven hits, walking four and striking out six.
Davis went four innings, his shortest outing. He gave up five runs and six hits, walking three and striking out one.
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