Cristie Kerr took care of business Friday, whipping her Sybase Match Play opponent, 7 and 6
Belen Mozo didn’t stand a chance against a fierce Cristie Kerr in Friday’s second round of the LPGA’s Sybase Match Play Championship. The 22-year-old Spanish golfer said the day before that Kerr’s name didn’t ring a bell, so Kerr went out and rang Mozo’s — to the tune of 7 and 6 at Hamilton Farm Golf Club.
“I don’t even know her,” Mozo told The Star-Ledger’s Brendan Prunty on Thursday. “I’ve never played with her.”
Who knows if the two will ever match up again, but odds are that Mozo won’t forget the beat down handed to her by Kerr.
“You have to try to take advantage of it if you want to win your match,” Kerr told reporters following her lopsided victory. “You never know what’s going to happen so you just try and keep your foot on the gas. I never heard anybody apologize for winning by a big margin.”
In the marquee match of the day, Paula Creamer bested Karrie Webb, 1-up, to move into Saturday morning’s Sweet 16. The reigning U.S. Women’s Open champ will take on 2004 Curtis Cup and 2009 Solheim Cup teammate, Brittany Lang. Lang defeated I.K. Kim, 2 and 1.
Back-and-forth most of the day, Creamer finally closed Webb out on the 18th hole. “[I] hit a good shot to about five feet, not quite ‑‑ it was a leave that I wanted above the hole left‑to‑right,” Creamer said in a post-round press conference. “Those are the moments where I told myself on the green, this is why you play the game, for these moments right here. Having that five‑footer, you have to make it to win, and that was kind of fun having that feeling again.”
Michelle Wie needed 20 holes to defeat 2009 LPGA Championship winner Anna Nordqvist. Wie had to come back from 2-down after 13 holes to post the “W.”
In addition to Creamer vs. Lang (9:28 a.m.), Saturday morning’s notable pairings include:
- Ai Miyazato vs. Inbee Park — Miyazato puts her six LPGA Tour wins on the line in this 9:04 a.m. competition.
- Kerr vs. Kyeong Bae (9:12 a.m.) — Kerr’s run-away second-round win makes her the clear favorite against Bae.
- Suzann Pettersen vs. Stacy Lewis (9:44 a.m.) — Pettersen, who defeated Amy Hung, 5 and 3, will have her hands full with the 2011 Kraft Nabisco champion.
- Wie vs. Sophie Gustafson — The 9:52 a.m. tilt matches two of the tour’s longest hitters.
- Yani Tseng vs. Julieta Granada (10 a.m.) — Top-ranked Tseng has the edge over one-time career winner Granada.
