Annika Sorenstam shot a 4-over-par 74 in the second round of the PGA Tour Bank of American Colonial on Friday, missing the cut with a 5-over-par 145 total.
The cut was at 1-over, 141.
Sorenstam birdied the second hole, but recorded three bogeys on the front nine and two more on the back nine.
She closed her round by making a 15-foot par putt on No. 18. The gallery exploded in cheers and she tossed her ball into the crowd. She got hugs from playing partners Dean Wilson and Aaron Barber, and shed a few tears as she walked off to the cheers of the crowd.
Sorenstam's putting was much better in the second round. However, she faltered a few times in her areas of strength: hitting fairways and hitting greens. She also appeared to be more aggressive in the second round, firing at difficult pins early only to twice wind up in bunkers.
Thursday - Round 1
Annika Sorenstam shot a 1-over par 71 in the first round of the PGA Tour Bank of America Colonial on Thursday, closing with a 3-putt bogey on her final hole.
But the strengths of Sorenstam's game - accuracy and course management - were amply displayed all throughout the first round. She hit 13 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens - marks that were well ahead of the field at large.
However, he weakness - the short game - also showed up in a seemingly tentative putting stroke that left several birdie putts short. With an average putting day, her amazing accuracy off the tee and from the fairway could easily have resulted in a score three or four shots lower.
Sorenstam's 71 included 15 pars, one birdie and two bogeys.
The damp conditions at Colonial hurt Sorenstam's distance off the tee (although she did crank one drive 288 yards), but helped her long-iron and fairway-wood approaches hold the greens.
For Friday's second round, she'll be teeing off mid-afternoon. The playing conditions will likely be tougher, with greens that have dried out a bit and been spiked up a bit.
Last year, 143 missed the cut. Sorenstam will likely need to shoot another 71 to make the cut. To do that, she'll need to have a better day on the greens, which seems like a reasonable goal. There is definitely no reason to believe her accuracy will fall off in Round 2.
Wednesday - Pro-Am
Sorenstam got in 10 holes of play in the Colonial Pro-Am on Wednesday, finishing those holes somewhere around 1-over par. Her exact score is not known because she picked up on two holes from within six feet.
Her round ended at 10 holes due to a steady rain.
Sorenstam was under par after making birdie on the 246-yard par-3 No. 4. Her drive came up just short of the green, but she chipped in. However, she bogeyed the next hole after putting her approach into a bunker.
If damp conditions continue, Colonial Country Club will play longer - making Sorenstam's length more of an issue. But that factor may be balanced - or even tipped in Sorenstam's favor - by the effect the weather could have on the greens. Colonial's greens are firmer and faster than anything Sorenstam plays on the LPGA Tour. Damp greens will be easier for Sorenstam to hold with long-iron or fairway-wood approaches, and slower greens easier to putt.
