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Watching Annika...And Natalie / photos

Journal photo / Mary Murphy
Natalie Gulbis fights out of the rough on hole number six, where she bogeyed this morning.

There are worse assignments in sportswriting than watching Annika Sorenstam and Natalie Gulbis play golf together at Newport C.C.

Such was my plight in life Saturday morning with the U.S. Open champ Sorenstam fighting her way to an even-par 71 and maintaining a 2-under score for the tournament. Gulbis birdied her first two holes and four of her first eight overall (the group began on the back nine) before sliding back and playing the back nine with three bogies to finish at even par 71.

But forget about the birdies and the bogies. These two players can't be more different, on or off the course. Sorenstam is the Grand Champion, perhaps the greatest women's player ever. She's a 2-time Open champ and is the model of consistency, hitting fairways and greens and rarely getting herself in any semblence of trouble.

While a fan favorite, she's subdued and never flashy. She'll flash a smile and pump her fist after a birdie but she's all business.

Natalie Gulbis is flashy without trying, stunning without fretting over which colorful outfit to wear. Yesterday her color was lime green, from head to toe, and she heard more than a few hoots and hollers from the crowd both for her shot-making skills and her looks. Such is life when you're a 23-year old pro golfer with your very own swimsuit calendar.

Gulbis could learn a thing or two from Sorenstam the last two days. While a deep hitter off the tee like the veteran star, Gulbis finds herself in shaky spots too often. She also needs to revamp her putting stroke. She putts with a version of the claw grip on a long putter, an acceptable style if the ball goes in. But missed putts have been her downfall through the first two rounds.

After two rounds, Sorenstam and Gulbis were even in one major category: birdies made. Both had five. Bogies, however, were another matter and the reason Annika is fighting for the title and Gulbis is just happy to make the cut and stay in Newport for another day.

- Kevin McNamara

Posted by Kevin  at 3:55 PM | Permalink

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