Wie Alone in First at Weather-Suspended NW Arkansas Championship


Michelle Wie continued her fine play in the NW Arkansas Championship, a $2 million, 54-hole LPGA Tour event taking place at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers, Ark.

Coming off a victory in last week's U.S. Women's Open, the 24-year-old Wie posted her second straight 5-under 66 to reach 10-under 132, good for a two-stroke advantage over South Korean So Yeon Ryu, who has two 67s.

After a spotless Friday card listing five birdies, Wie tacked on six more Saturday - with her only dropped shot of the tournament coming on the par-3 11th hole.

The second round was suspended due to bad weather and not everyone finished play.

Three behind Wie are Korea's Chella Choi (65), Norway's Suzann Pettersen (67) and Denmark's Line Vedel. Vedel is 4-under on her second round but still needs to complete five holes before it's made official.

Sharing sixth at 6-under 136 are South Korean Mi Hyang Lee (65) and Americans Mina Harrigae and Stacy Lewis, who each shot 66s.

Lewis, a former Arkansas All-American and the top-rated player in women's golf, opened with a 1-under 70 but on Saturday carded six birdies and a bogey. Lewis earned the first of her 10 professional titles in the "hometown" tournament as an amateur in 2007.

Also at 6-under are Korean Ji Young Oh (2-under through 14 holes), American Gerina Piller (2-under through 13) and Mexico's Alejandra Llaneza (1-under through 10).

Sharing 12th at 5-under are France's Karine Icher (65), No. 3-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand (68) and South Korean Na Yeon Choi (69).

First-round leader Alena Sharp of Canada opened with a 65 but was 2-over through 15 holes and is at 4-under overall. She'll finish out the second round with other players Sunday morning in advance of the final round. After opening with a 69, defending champion and No. 2-ranked Inbee Park was at even-par through 12 holes - and 2-under overall - before play was suspended.

For all the scores, visit www.lpga.com.