Stacy Lewis made a loud statement in her first start as a professional golfer. The 23-year-old (shown left with her dad/caddie) held a one-shot lead going into the final round at last week's U.S. Women's Open and finished T3, earning $162,487. That money would've placed Lewis 54th on the LPGA's Official Money List, but here's the kicker:  she remains in last place with $0. So her venture to earn enough money to get her LPGA Tour card without competing in Qualifying School will start tomorrow, at the NW Arkansas Championship.

Lewis became a professional golfer a month ago, but she is not yet a member of the LPGA Tour. And earnings from the U.S. Women's Open don't count towards non-members who try to gain their LPGA Tour card by making enough money, because the Major isn't sponsored by the LPGA. So to get her 2009 LPGA Tour card, Lewis will either have to earn enough money in other LPGA Tour events this year, or qualify through Q School in November.

Why have such a (dumb) rule? First, the policy forces non-members to compete almost exclusively against LPGA Tour players. Second, prize money at the U.S. Women's Open used to be much higher than at any other event. So policy makers felt it was too probable for a non-member to earn her LPGA Tour card based on a successful showing in just one event. With $3.1 million, the U.S. Women's Open still offers the highest prize money, but it doesn't outshine all other LPGA Tour events. Thirteen events currently offer $2 million or more, so it's time to reevaluate the rule.

As a non-member, Lewis has six chances to make enough money this year (that's the maximum number of tournaments she's allowed to play). My guess is she'll do it with flying colors. Along with an outstanding T3 finish at the 63rd U.S. Women's Open, Lewis shot a final round 66 to win the 2007 NCAA Division I individual national title, she led the USA to a 13-7 victory over the GB&I at the 2008 Curtis Cup, was the first player to win all five of her Curtis Cup matches, and finished fifth at last year's LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship to earn low-amateur honors.

The girl's got game, and the LPGA Tour shouldn't slow her down as she vies to grab her 2009 LPGA Tour card. What do you think? Should the LPGA reevaluate the policy?

When all is said and done, Inbee Park's win at the 63rd U.S. Women's Open becomes increasingly more amazing. Below, I've listed nine feats Park accomplished when she shot a final round 71. Amazing stuff.

9. Became the second consecutive 19-year-old to win a major (Yani Tseng won the 2008 McDonald's LPGA Championship).

8. Was the only player to break par in all four rounds.

7. Broke Se Ri Pak's record and became the youngest winner of a U.S. Women's Open. Pak was 20 years old when she grabbed the 1998 U.S. Women's Open.

6. Became the fifth South Korean to win an LPGA Tour major.

5. Was the only player to break par on Sunday in the final nine groups. (Incidentally, only eight players in a field of 74 broke par during the windy final round.)

4. Became the third player in the past six years to make the U.S. Women's Open her first victory on Tour (Birdie Kim did it in 2005, and Hilary Lunke in 2003).

3. Climbed to fourth on the money list, behind Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer.

2. Grabbed her first Major victory precisely a decade after her idol, Se Ri Pak, won the 1998 U.S. Women's Open. "Ten years ago I was watching [Se Ri] win this event on TV," Park told us after her victory. "I didn't know anything about golf back then. But...I just thought that I could do it, too. So I just picked up a golf club a couple of days after that."

1. Realized the importance of introducing kids to the game of golf. After someone asked her whether she thinks she'll influence kids as much as Se Ri Pak inspired her, Park responded, "I really want to teach all these little kids to reach their dreams, so it will be good."

Yes, Inbee. It will be good.

Is it really Sunday night? The many storylines and feats accomplished this week at the 63rd U.S. Women's Open made it feel like the blink of an eye.

Lorena Ochoa never even contends for her first U.S. Open victory, Michelle Wie's embarrassing quintuple-bogey on number nine erases her chances to participate in the weekend action, Annika Sorenstam gives us a great finishing hole by dunking a 200-yard shot for eagle, 15-year-old Jessica Korda shoots Sunday's low-round, Paula Creamer stumbles to the finish line, still bearing the weight of the unwanted best-player-yet-to-win-a-major title, Stacy Lewis almost grabs a Major in her first start as a professional, Helen Alfredsson finishes second, nearly becoming the oldest woman to win the U.S. Open, and Inbee Park wins her first tournament as a professional a decade after her idol, Se Ri Pak, grabbed the Open.

We've had so much fun reporting on the ins and outs of the action this week. But from the Twin Cities, the Mayo twins say farewell for now. Until next time, keep it in the short stuff.

That's the number of people who cheered on the golfers this week at the 63rd U.S. Women's Open. Here's a day-by-day attendance breakdown:

Monday: 5,224
Tuesday: 9,035
Wednesday: 11,485
Thursday: 20,129
Friday: 22,008
Saturday: 22,336
Sunday: 23,089

And a record-breaking 10,835 juniors (17 and under) were in attendance this week. This most likely stems from the USGA's new effort to attract young people to the game of golf--juniors were awarded free admission with a ticketed adult. Our champion, after all, picked up a golf club after watching Se Ri Pak play on TV. Who knows what this week's new attendance record will bring for golf's future.

It wasn't meant to be for Paula Creamer and Stacy Lewis. The 21- and 23-year olds were playing for the week of their lives, but rounds of 78 don't win Major Championships.

"It was so hard for me to get anything close to the pin," Creamer told the media this evening. "My ball striking wasn't like it was the other days and if you mis-hit it in this wind it makes it a lot harder. It was just a rough day."

A rough day, indeed. Creamer hit just eight greens and needed 30 putts. Lewis also had trouble with the greens today, which played faster due to the 20 MPH winds.

"It was all about speed," Lewis said after her round. "Yesterday my speed was perfect. And then today, I was short, I was long, short, long. It was never consistent at all."

But Lewis isn't disappointed with her performance.

"I didn't really play that poorly...It's hard to be upset. I finished third at the U.S. Open, my first pro event. It's kind of hard to be upset."

Creamer's emotions are a bit different. She wanted nothing more than to win this U.S. Open, and to please the many fans that were rooting for her.

"It's probably the most disappointed I've been in a very long time...Especially when you have such a great gallery out there cheering you on the whole time, it's just hard. I think that's the hardest part."

Maria Jose Uribe, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, finished as this weeks' low-amateur. The UCLA sophomore played in the last two U.S. Opens, but missed the cut both times.

"If you come here and think, 'I just want to make the cut because I'm an amateur,' you might as well just stay home. You have to go to win, even if you're an amateur and think it's like impossible."

Win is precisely what she tried to do. The 18-year-old missed the cut in the first two Majors of the year, but finished T10 this week, with a score of two-under-par.

"It was a fun week. The first two days, playing with Cristie Kerr and Lorena, I learned a lot of stuff and just enjoyed the week. And I had fun. I wanted to play better today, but it was not the day. So I guess next year I'll be here and try to win the championship again."

Uribe is going to play in the RICOH Women's British Open at the end of the month. It kind of makes you wonder, don't these Major Championships make college golf seem like a joke?

"Not really," said Uribe. "I'm not really good at reading greens, so when I have a caddie it's much easier for me."

Uribe credits the crowd and the energy for making this week such a success.

At 19 years old, Inbee Park is now the youngest winner of the U.S. Women's Open, replacing Se Ri Pak, who won in 1998 when she was 20 years old. A final round score of 71, which included five birdies and three bogeys, led her to a runaway four-shot victory, making her the fifth player ever to win the U.S. Girls' (2002) and U.S. Women's Open.

"I can't believe I just did this," exclaimed Park, who was the only player to break par in the final nine groups.  "I feel very, very happy. I don't know what's happening right now. I have no idea what's happening right now."

The South Korean, who was sprayed with champagne as she walked off the 18th green, wins the Championship on the tenth-year anniversary of Se Ri Pak's dramatic U.S. Open victory. In fact, Pak's success at that very event is what inspired Park to pick up a golf club.

"I started about two days after Se Ri won this championship in 1998. My parents were really big fans of golf and they were watching it. I had no idea why they were watching golf at like 3 o'clock in the morning. I didn't know what that was. But it became so big in Korea and a lot of people picked up golf after that. And I was just one of them. And in ten years I'm here winning this event. It's very special."

Ironically, Annika Sorenstam, shown to the left with fiance Mike McGee, said she's had one of the best ball-striking weeks ever. But it was the flatstick, and the lack of energy, that let her down.

"It doesn't matter how much you try or how much you want it," she said after her round. "To play good golf you just need a ton of energy and I just, in the end, I just didn't have it. It was more because my tank is empty. I've given it all. There is nothing left."

But Sorenstam plans to fill up her tank before the end of the year.

"I have several more tournaments and I would like to finish on a strong note. I am playing good golf."

Today's winner, Inbee Park, did something Sorenstam accomplished at the 1995 U.S. Women's Open. She made her first win a Major.

"It's obviously a moment where you're very, very nervous...I remember I just tried to hit the fairway and hit the green. And just believe in yourself, and not try to think too far ahead. [Inbee Park] is obviously playing some great golf today, because the conditions are very, very hard."

Sorenstam, a 72-time winner on the LPGA Tour had to deal with new emotions this week, knowing she's stepping away from competitive golf after the 2008 season.

"It's been a total roller coaster emotionally for me. I've had tears. I've had laughs. I've been angry. You name it, I've had every feeling this week...To finish like this, it's obviously wonderful, but I'll look back at this week and wish I had done a few things differently."

But is she really stepping away? Honestly?

"I am stepping away for sure by the end of the year. But if I come back in a few years it will definitely be the Open."

Yes!

Here's a photo we snapped of Annika hugging her caddie, Terry Mcanmara, in their final U.S. Open.

The putter hasn't worked well for Annika Sorenstam all week, but she didn't need one on her final hole of the U.S. Women's Open. After laying up on the par-5 18th, Sorenstam used a 6-iron from 199 yards. She needed to get up and down to break 80. The approach landed on the front of the green, bounced a couple times and rolled straight into the hole for an eagle and a five-over-par 78. A storyline finish for the three-time winner of the U.S. Open.

"I've never, never seen crowds like this and just," said Sorenstam. "I thought the roar on 9 yesterday was big. But I think on 18 today it was even bigger. It was amazing. They have been so, so supportive and I was out there dragging and everybody just tried to keep me going and it's just, like I said, it's another wonderful memory. I didn't walk away with the trophy but to feel so supported and feel so loved with everybody here, it's just something that I'll never forget."

Annika made an eagle on her 1026th U.S. Open hole. It was a shot for the ages.

Inbee Park has a wealth of experience, but has yet to win on the LPGA Tour. She seems to thrive, however, at the U.S. Open--she tied for fourth at the event in 2007, and is currently leading by four strokes.

Park turned professional in 2006, where she grabbed 11 top-10 finishes on the Duramed Futures Tour to earn a 2007 LPGA Tour card. And as an amateur, Park won nine events on the AJGA, arguably the most prestigious junior golf association.

Her career best finish on the LPGA Tour is a T2 at the 2007 Safeway Classic, where she shot a career-low 64 during the third round. And she's coming off a T6 at the Wegmans LPGA, played last week in Rochester, New York, and a ninth place finish in the year's first Major, the 2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Park considers herself part of the elite group of young-gun golfers on the LPGA Tour.

"There's a lot of young players out here whose name is up there on the leaderboard all the time," Park told us after her round yesterday evening. "Hopefully, I'm one of them."

Stacy Lewis' first start as a professional golfer began like fairytale. Not anymore. Lewis is four-over-par through ten holes.

After parring the first hole, Lewis double bogeyed the par-5 second hole, even though her third shot was just 80 yards from the green. She followed the trip-up with five pars, but three-putted the par-3 eighth and bogeyed. Another bogey on the ninth hole set her back three strokes behind the current leader, Inbee Park. But that bogey could've been worse. Lewis hit her second shot long, landing over the green. Nice touch helped her get her third shot within 10 feet of the tricky pin location, but Lewis couldn't convert the par.

Maybe it's the 25 MPH winds. Or maybe it's her nerves. Either way, Paula Creamer isn't getting off to the start she would've liked.

After parring the first hole, Creamer double bogeyed the par-5 second. She pulled her tee shot into the left fairway bunker, laid up in the right rough, airmailed her third shot over the green, fluffed it short, chipped it on and two-putted. Oy vey. Although she came back with a birdie on the par-3 fourth, a bogey on the sixth set her behind once again. She then pushed her tee shot on the par-3 eight, landing in the right greenside bunker. From there, Creamer couldn't get it up and down and got a bogey four.

The real mess happened on the par-4 ninth hole. Creamer hit a perfect drive, but airmailed the green once again, sending her ball near the grandstands. In case you don't know, being long on this hole is deadly, as the green slopes severely from back to front. Low and behold, Creamer's chip went across the green, and she failed to get it up and down for bogey.

I spoke with Nancy Lopez last week, who's confident that Creamer will win the big one sooner rather than later.

"Paula puts a lot of pressure on herself," Lopez told me. "But she is a player that really knows her ability. She knows that she should have won many more tournaments than she has, and she’s frustrated that she hasn’t. She has to ignore that label of being the best player without a major because there are a lot of great players that have never won the U.S. Open. She should focus on playing the best golf that she can.

Let's see if Creamer can bounce back with an under-par back nine. She's currently four strokes behind the leader, Inbee Park, so a tough two hours awaits her.

It's hard to believe this is the first time Jessica Korda is competing against the LPGA Tour pros. It's also hard to believe she's 15 years old. But it's true. I promise.

After making the cut on the number, the 27th-ranked junior golfer shot a four-under 69 today, a round that included two bogeys and six birdies. Jessica said she didn't keep her stats for the first time today, but instead simply played golf.

Her dad, Petr, is on the bag and knows a thing or two about competing on the big stage: the former professional tennis player won the Australian Open ten years ago.

"Having my dad as my caddie helps a lot," Jessica told me after her round. "He knows how to calm me down in pressure situations and knows how to prevent me from getting off track."

Petr also enjoyed being on the bag for his daughter. He said there were some downs, but many more ups.

"On number 10, we really liked it when we saw Jessie's name on the leaderboard above Ochoa's name," said Petr, who is a scratch golfer. "That was cool."

The Kordas live next to Ivan Lendl, another tennis great. Lendl has three daughters who all play golf, and the families are very close. Jessica is friendliest with Daniela and Isabelle, who are closest to her age, and Petr often goes to Ivan for advice.

"I always knock on his door for advice," said Petr. "He's good because he tells me what to expect. He's been through what I'm going through three times."

Jessica, a native of the Czech Republic, trained in Bradenton under the IMG David Leadbetter Academy for seven years. But three months ago, Jessica and her family moved to Sarasota to join The Founders Club, following Jessica's teacher, Tim Sheredy.

So what does Jessica think about playing with the pros?

"I've never seen them in person, and they look a lot taller on TV. And I met Lorena for the first time. That was cool. I've never played against the LPGA Tour pros, and it's such an honor."

Jessica's pink ball marker says "Girl Power" on it. Indeed, her golf scores are sending the same message.

It's an important day for Paula Creamer, who's vying to shed the best-player-without-a-major-title, and Stacy Lewis, who's trying to win her first start as a professional, which just so happens to be a U.S. Women's Open. So how did they warm up for the big day? I followed Creamer from the moment she walked on to the putting green to the time she stepped on the tee box, and my sister tracked Lewis. Here's how their pre-round practice routines compare:

11:00
Paula: Her caddie, Colin Cann, walks on to the putting green. Just like yesterday, Cann found a straight four-foot putt, marked it with a chalk line and stepped on it, created a gully to make it easier for Paula to sink the putt. She then lag putts with two balls and chips with three balls.

11:22
Paula: Walks onto the green. She putts on the line that her caddie picked out.
Stacy: Walks onto the range. She progresses from her short irons to her woods. She then does a drill with her driver, where she drops her right foot back and swings. This drill helps prevent you from coming over the top. She then hits drivers with a normal setup. To prepare for the par-three and shorter par-fours, she tees up balls to hit fairway woods and long irons. She ends her session by hitting with a short iron.

11:39
Paula: Heads to range. She gets there with a pink shag bag carrying her own pink range balls. She works through her bag, from her wedges to her woods, while intermittently hitting a couple shots using the Swingyde, a training aid that ensures the proper wrist angles. She hits several shots with her driver and ends by swinging with the Swingyde.

11:52
Stacy: Walks off the range.

11:56
Stacy: Gets to the putting green. She uses two balls and putts from a variety of distances. Dad/caddie doesn't get in the way, and instead stands just off the green, by her bag.

12:07
Paula: Walks off the range. She signs the rest of her range balls and throws them to the crowd. She also signs the pink shag bag and hands it to a woman in the crowd.

12:15
Paula: Walks to the practice putting green. She putts with only one ball, pink of course, to every hole. She ends by sinking three four-foot putts.
Stacy: Walks off the practice green.

12:25
Paula: Walks off the putting green.

12:26
Paula and Stacy: Meet on the first tee. A quick handshake is the first and only interaction they have. A little tense, shall we say?

Annika Sorenstam was out here an hour and a half before her time. That's about 30 minutes earlier than usual. Sure enough, she's spending that time putting on the practice green under the watchful eyes of two men.

"I've been fighting and fighting...I just need a few putts to drop and it will be a different story," Sorenstam told us after her round yesterday. "I'm still in striking zone and I'm not giving up hope yet."

We're not giving up hope, either. If anyone can rally back, Annika can.

Lorena Ochoa should be upset. And angry. With five par-fives and the longest course in U.S. Women's Open history, this was her primo chance to grab another Major. But it ain't gonna happen.

Surprisingly, Ochoa smiled as she warmed up this morning, and as she teed off at 8:40 CST. As the announcer introduced her playing partner, Korean Na On Min, she smiled and looked at her with admiration. It seemed as though she wanted to thank the announcer for introducing the players, and has a great appreciation for anyone who volunteers their time to better women's golf.

At four-over-par, Ochoa is currently thirteen shots off the lead. But let's see if she can get it back to under-par for the tournament. Whether she does or she doesn't, we'll definitely see her smiling.

Rain won't be an issue today, but the weather story for the final round of the 63rd U.S. Women's Open is wind. And lots of it. Gusts are expected to reach 30 MPH, and steady winds will blow at 20 MPH for most of the afternoon.

Oh, and we just picked up a pin placement sheet. Below are some not-so-nice hole locations:

Number 4, Par 3, 178 yards: Balls break left once they hit the green, and the pin is just six feet from the right side. This will make it tough for players to stick it close. I predict many will land their second shot on the middle of this green, two-putt and run to the 5th tee happy with par.

Number 9, Par 4, 413 yards: The pin is cut smack in the middle of this two-tiered green. Land the ball above the hole, and players have a tricky putt down the slope. Nearly impossible to stop.

Number 10, Par 5, 528 yards: This large green breaks toward the pond on the right, and the flagstick is just six feet from the right.  Ouch.

Number 14, Par 3, 185 yards: The green slopes slightly from back to front, so players ideally need to keep the ball below the hole. But the pin is just nine feet from the front of the green, which is guarded by two large bunkers. These two elements, the front hole location and the two bunkers, will make it tough for players to keep the ball below the hole.

Number 15, Par 4, 345 yards: Missing this narrow, uphill green to the right, where there are two bunkers and heavy rough, can add up to a big number. So where did the superintendent cut the hole? Four feet from the right!

Number 18, Par 5, 530 yards: For the past three days, players have gotten their second shots close on this hole, but they may not today. The sucker pin is tucked behind a bunker, and is cut just six feet from the left of the green and ten feet from the front. This may prevent players from looking at a makable eagle putt.

It seems fitting that two Americans, Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer, will be paired in the final group on Sunday. It is the U.S. Women's Open, after all. Lately, however, Americans haven't dominated the LPGA Tour as they did decades ago. Golf World's Ron Sirak points out that the last American named LPGA Player of the Year was Beth Daniel in 1994, and the last American to top the LPGA Tour's money list was Betsy King in 1993.

Take hold, the Americans are back this weekend. A Mexican and a Taiwanese grabbed the first two Major titles of the year (Lorena Ochoa at the Kraft Nabisco, and Yani Tseng at the McDonald's LPGA Championship), but Creamer and Lewis seem poised to hold off the dozen International players who stand below them. And they've represented their country well in the past. Paula Creamer was a major force in the U.S.'s 16-12 win in the 2007 Solheim Cup, and Stacy Lewis arguably led the Americans to a 13-7 victory at the 2008 Curtis Cup.

"I love representing my country," said Paula Creamer, who was wearing an American flag on her collar. "I love playing for my country. Just being able to go out there representing America at the same time in the United States Women's Open, it means a lot. I put a lot of hard work into what I do and to have -- to be able and to go out and play golf for a living in a great country is something I really appreciate and look forward to."

Everyone's been talking about Paula Creamer's new title as the best-player-yet-to-win-a-Major. She may silence us all tomorrow evening.

Creamer shot a solid 69, which included a bogey and five birdies, and played her way into the final group on Sunday of a Major.

"As long as I put myself in position on Sunday that's all I can do," the fourth-ranked player in the world told us after her round this evening. "If somebody said, 'You want to be at 8-under par going into Sunday,' I would take in a heartbeat. I'm there. I've done the work. Tomorrow I just have to go out and finish the deal."

Creamer missed a birdie putt on number 12 and looked extremely disappointed. She turned to her caddie, Colin Cann, for support.

"I was venting a little bit. I was a little upset with the decisions that we made, but he looked at me and he said, 'Paula, look where you're at, come on, stay focused with your game plan.' And I was like, 'Okay, I'm all right.' And that's the advantage of having Colin on my bag. I had him ever since I turned pro and he's won U.S. Opens and Majors before and he knows what it's like to get too far ahead of yourself."

Helen "Alfie" Alfredsson has a lot more on her resume than you may think. And she likes the Majors. The 43-year-old won the 1999 Weetabix Women's British Open, the 1993 Nabisco Dinah Shore, and finished second by a stroke in the 1993 Women's Open. Incidentally, she also holds a record 63 in the first round of the 1994 Women's Open.

But Alfie hasn't been Alfie as of late. Last year she could only compete in 11 events due to a severe back injury.

"Coming back after my injury last year helps me enjoy the moment," said the 1992 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year. "It sounds so cliche, but it's something to be said about it when you haven't been able to enjoy the moment."

Alfredsson showed a few rays of light last week, when she shot five-under and finished T19 at the Weagmans LPGA event in Rochester, New York.

"I played quite well last week," said Alfredsson, who's played on seven Solheim Cup teams. "I'm third in greens in regulation for the year, so that's a pretty good number. It means that you're hitting fairways and greens...Tonight I'm having dinner with friends and relaxing. Hopefully. We'll talk about everything but me and my game. Even though, of course, it's nice to talk about me. No. I'm just kidding."

"I'm about to cry," Sorenstam told us after her round this afternoon. The 72-time LPGA Tour winner shot one-under today, and stands seven shots behind the leader. "When you do everything you can and it just doesn't happen, I cannot hit the ball any better, I cannot put myself in a better position and I really don't know what to do. I think I'm rolling the ball really well today and doing everything I was told to do. It feels good and it just does not happen."

Perhaps the pressure of playing in her last U.S. Open is catching up with her. It's tough to forget about, especially when fans on every hole remind you.

"The support has been fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. So supportive, so encouraging, so much fun to see the people out here through rainy conditions...A lot of people say thanks for the memories or wait one more year. It's just very, very nice. It's a lot of fun."

When asked if she feels like Tina Turner on the Tina Turner Farewell Tour, Sorenstam laughed and said, "I never felt like Tina Turner. And I don't think I'm that old yet."

But don't think she's totally out of the tournament.

"I'm just going to go home now and chill out a little bit and tomorrow's another day. I'm not giving up. I'm going to tell you that."

Stacy Lewis is making her first start as a professional on the LPGA Tour (she turned pro earlier this month). And the 23-year-old from Texas is leading the 63rd U.S. Women's Open. But that comes as no surprise to Maria Jose Uribe, who witnessed Stacy's six-under-par round of 67.

"I am totally not shocked to see her play good," Uribe told me after her round. "She's always been a solid player and has a lot of confidence."

Lewis herself expected to be in this situation.

"I'm not really that surprised. I felt like I could play at this level and compete at this level. It was my goal to put myself into contention to win going into the last day. That's what I try to do at every golf tournament."

Lewis' dad, Dale Lewis, is caddying for her this week and introduced her to the game when she was eight years old.

"She started beating me when she was 13," said the 5-handicap golfer. "And when she came back from her first year of college she started beating me from the men's tees. That's when I gave up."

An encounter with scoliosis, however, nearly ended her golf career.

"I found out I had scoliosis when I was 11, and then I wore a brace until I was 18 to hopefully not have to have surgery. I had to wear it 18 hours a day. So I got six hours off. Most of the time I used to where it to play golf and to practice. But I wore it to bed, I wore it to school, all those kind of things. But it turned out I still had to have the surgery, which I had when I was 18. And then I couldn't play for six months after that. I couldn't bend or twist or lift anything over five pounds. So the surgery was very serious. I could've been paralyzed with the surgery. It was hard."

Sure, this is Lewis' first start as a professional, but she has a ton of experience to fall back on. She's gone low at big times and has grabbed big titles: she shot a 66 in the final round to win the 2007 NCAA Championship, she's won 12 collegiate events while playing for the University of Arkansas, finished in fifth at the 2007 LPGA Kraft Nabisco Championship to earn low amateur honors, and she was named the 2007-08 SEC Player of the year.

"It seems like she plays her best when she's nervous," her dad said. "I don't quite know why. But she's totally aware of what she's doing out here. She knows this is big."

Ochoa shot a three-over-par 76, bringing her a whopping twelve shots behind the leaders. Simply put, nothing is going her way. Not even the five par-fives that everyone thought would be the key to her success.

But Ochoa's misfortunes may run deeper than her golf game. She's had two deaths in her family (her paternal uncle and maternal grandfather) in the last month, and seems to be emotionally fragile--she certainly isn't the Ochoa we're used to. Couple the family tragedies with the weight of proving her rank as the best golfer in the world, and it's obvious that Ochoa's had a lot to carry. So much, in fact, that she's played her way out of the tournament.

My sister and I saw Paula Creamer's caddie, Colin Cann, do something quite unusual. Before Creamer's tee time, Cann found a flat four-foot putt on the practice green and placed a tee in the ground. He then marked the line with chalk. Here's where things get interesting: Cann stepped on the entire four-foot line, from the tee to the hole, with both feet. He essentially created a gully so that when Creamer putted from the tee, it'd be tough for her to miss the hole. She was learning how it feels to make a four-foot putt.

Some may say this drill creates a false sense of confidence. But we disagree. All you need on four-foot putts, and putting in general, is the confidence of knowing you have made the putt in the past. We think this drill is why Creamer is tied for the lead.

Here's a training aid everyone should take to the putting green at least once. It looks like she made this one, but you can buy a similar putting mirror here.

The mirror will help you setup with your eyes directly over the ball, and help you take the putter back and through on the intended path. Plus, it's lightweight and small, so it'll easily fit into any golf bag or suitcase.

We followed Annika Sorenstam from the minute she walked onto the course this morning to the time she teed off. The rain delay pushed her tee time from 10:38 to 11:20, and here's her pre-round routine:

9:25: Putts from off the green. The Donald Ross greens at Interlachen lead to tons of chances to putt from the fringe.
9:36: Heads to the range.
9:42: Gets to the practice tee.
9:44: Hits nine shots with a short iron; seven shots with a mid-iron; eight shots with a different mid-iron; ten with a long-iron; a dozen shots with two different woods; four with a wedge; five shots with a driver; four with an iron; and ends with three half-wedge shots.
10:06: Walks off the range. Everyone claps as she heads back to the practice green.
10:12: Gets to practice green. She putts from an array of distances with two balls.
10:20: Seeks shelter under Interlachen's main patio because play is suspended.
11:20: Tees off the first hole with the largest gallery out there.

The winds are strong, the temperatures have dropped and rain clouds are passing through. And we just ran into Jock Olson, the Head Golf Pro at Interlachen, who warned us that tricky pin placements on numbers 12 and 18 will lead to unusually high scores.

Combine