Pressel started on the 10th hole and opened with three birdies on the side at the 13th, 16th and 18th holes.  After three pars to open the back side, Pressel dropped four straight birdies on the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holes. 

Diaz made two birdies and a bogey in the first nine holes.  She made a birdie on the 10th hole and, after two pars, Diaz made three straight birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes.  She added an eagle on the par-5, 17th hole to grab a share of the lead.

Kim started her day with a bogey on the first hole.  She got back on track with four straight birdies from the fourth to seventh holes.  After a par on the 10th hole, Kim made three more birdies on the 11th, 12th and 13th holes.  She recovered from a bogey on the 16th hole with birdies on the final two holes.

Pettersen and Wie are tied at six-under par after opening rounds of 65.  Cristie Kerr, Jiyai Shin and Lindsey Wright are part of a six-way tie for sixth place.  They shot 66 along with Inbee Park, Jee Young Lee and Minea Blomqvist and are two shots behind the leaders.

Kim opened the first round with five pars from the 10th to 14th holes.  He then made consecutive birdies and finished out the front side at two-under par.  After a birdie on the first hole, Kim’s 10th, he added three straight on the third, fourth and fifth holes.  Kim added two more on the seventh and eighth holes for a 29 on the side.

Tournament host Tiger Woods shot 64 in the opening round, with seven birdies and one bogey, to sit tied with D. A. Points and Bryce Molder at six-under par.  Steve Elkington is in fifth place after shooting 65 in the opening round.  Jim Furyk, Stuart Appleby and Daniel Chopra are tied for sixth place.  Five players are tied for ninth place at three-under par, including Boo Weekley and Justin Rose.  Also at three-under are Michael Allen, Rod Pampling and Y. E. Yang.

The PGA TOUR is in Maryland for the AT&T National, hosted by Tiger Woods.  Woods missed his event last year because of knee surgery but he is in the field this week as he tries to unseat Anthony Kim.  Kim is coming off his two best consecutive starts and could be poised for a repeat this week at the Congressional Country Club.

Top 3

• Tiger Woods
• Hunter Mahan
• Sean O’Hair

Watch List

• Vijay Singh
• Anthony Kim
• Paul Casey
• Nick Watney
• Jim Furyk

Creamer will have her work cut out for her as nineteen of the top 20 golfers in the world (missing only Karrie Webb) are in attendance this week, including top ranked Lorena Ochoa.  Other top ranked players that will be in Ohio this week include last week’s winner Jiyai Shin, Yani Tseng and Cristie Kerr.  Also playing are fan favorites Natalie Gulbis, Juli Inkster, Michelle Wie, Morgan Pressel and 2009 major champions Brittany Lincicome and Anna Nordqvist.

Highland Meadows Golf Club has hosted this tournament for fourteen years.  It is a traditional course with narrow fairways and small greens protected by bunkers.  The course plays to a par 71 measuring 6,428 yards.

Kim will have to fend off the tournament host – Tiger Woods – if he wants to repeat.  Woods, who missed this event last season due to knee surgery, is joined by new U. S. Open champion Lucas Glover, Vijay Singh and Paul Casey.  Also playing this week are some of the season’s best in Sean O’Hair, Nick Watney and rookies Webb Simpson and Danny Lee.

Congressional was originally designed by Devereut Emmet in 1924 and later redesigned by Re es Jones in 1989.  The 7,255 yard, par 70 has been the host course for the AT&T National since inception in 1997.  The course has hosted the U. S. Open (1964, 1997), PGA Championship (1976), 1995 U. S. Senior Open and the Kemper Open (1980-86, 2005).  Congressional is slated to host the U. S. Amateur this year and the 2011 U. S. Open.

Yani Tseng and Kristy McPherson shot 66s to move into a tie for second place.  Rookies Mika Miyazato and Stacy Lewis tied with Haeji Kang for fourth place.  Cristie Kerr notched another top 10 finish, tying for seventh place with Meaghan Francella and Sun Young Yoo.  Michelle Wie rebounded from her third round 75 with a final round 69 to finish tied for 10th place with Brittany Lincicome, In-Kyung Kim, Sandra Gal and Mindy Kim.

Morgan Pressel had a rough back nine, including a triple-bogey, to fall into a tie for 15th place with Lindsey Wright, Brittany Lang, Ai Miyazato, Sarah Kemp, Anna Grzebien and Ji Young Oh.  Se Ri Pak and Karrie Webb tied for 24th place with Karen Stupples, Na Yeon Choi, Wendy Ward, Stacy Prammanasudh and Amy Yang.

Helen Alfredsson finished in 31st place.  McDonald’s LPGA Championship winner Anna Nordqvist finished tied for 36th place.  Rookie Vicky Hurst finished in 39th and Natalie Gulbis tied for 61st place.

Paula Creamer withdrew after Friday’s round due to an injury to her thumb.

Ryan Moore and Hunter Mahan finished with 64s to tie Ben Curtis for fourth place.  Rounding out the top 10 were Tag Ridings, Casey Wittenberg, Scott Verplank and Bo Van Pelt.   U. S. Open champion Lucas Glover finished with a round of 65 to move into a tie for 11th place with Anthony Kim and John Merrick.  Bubba Watson, Boo Weekley, D. J. Trahan and Michael Allen tied for 14th place, as Zach Johnson finished in 18th.

Rookie Webb Simpson tied for 26th place with Brian Gay, Nick O’Hern and four others.  Justin Leonard tied for 34th place.  Sergio Garcia scored his best round on Sunday with a 66 but finished tied for 43rd.  Colt Knost fell on Sunday with a final round 73 to tie for 47th.  Vijay Singh tied for 51st place and Chad Campbell finished in 59th place.  Defending champion Stewart Cink failed to make the cut shooting two rounds of 71.

Shin started the day with a birdie, extending her lead to five shots over Morgan Pressel.  Shin finished the front nine at one-under par after making bogey on the seventh hole and birdie on the eighth.  Pressel and Stacy Lewis were also one-under after nine holes to remain four and five shots back, respectively.

After a birdie on the 10th hole, Shin made bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes.  Pressel played herself out of contention on the back nine, carding four bogeys and a triple-bogey for a final round 78 and a tie for 15th place.  Lewis made birdie on the 12th hole but couldn’t hold on to the momentum as she finished with four bogeys over the final six holes for a 74 and a tie for fourth.  Shin added a final birdie on the 17th hole.

Yani Tseng and Kristy McPherson shot 66s in the final round to finish in second place.  Mika Miyazato and Haeji Kang tied with Lewis for fourth place at nine-under par.  Cristie Kerr tied for seventh place with Meaghan Francella and Sun Young Yoo.  Michelle Wie, Brittany Lincicome, In-Kyung Kim, Sandra Gal and Mindy Kim tied for 10th place at seven-under par.

Perry fought off a late charge by David Toms with birdies on the 15th and 17th holes.  Perry started the day one shot back of Paul Goydos.  Perry tied Goydos on the second hole and took the lead after making birdie, to Goydos’ bogey, on the eighth hole.  Goydos fell back further with a bogey on the 10th hole as Perry picked up steam with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes.

Toms started to make a run at the top with birdies on the 11th, 13th, 15th and 16th holes.  But, Perry seemed to have the answers this week.  Goydos had a little run of his own starting with an eagle on the par-4, 15th hole.  He added birdies on the 16th and 18th holes for a final round of 67.  Toms and Goydos finished tied for second at 19-under par.

Ryan Moore shot 64 in the final round to finish tied for fourth place at 17-under par.  Hunter Mahan and Ben Curtis shot 64 and 65, respectively, to tie with Moore.  Tag Ridings and Casey Wittenberg tied for seventh place at 16-under par.  Scott Verplank shot 62 in the final round to move into a tie for ninth place with Bo Van Pelt.

Shin was even par through nine holes after a birdie on the first hole was canceled out by a bogey on the sixth hole.  She caught fire on the back nine starting with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes, followed by another on the 13th.  Shin finished the round with birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to extend her lead over Morgan Pressel.

Pressel, who finished a second round 66 in the morning, shot 70 in the third round to get to 12-under par for the tournament.  Stacy Lewis is in third place at 11-under.  Lindsey Wright and Sandra Gal are tied for fourth place, with Sun Young Yoo a shot behind them in sixth place.  At eight-under par, Mika Miyazato, Haeji Kang and Mindy Kim are tied for seventh place.  Ji Young Oh, Brittany Lang and Alena Sharp are tied for 10th place, nine shots back of Shin.