There will be a first cut made after the second round is complete, trimming the field to 70 players.  After 54 holes, there will be a second cut made to bring the final round field to 30 golfers.

Ochoa started her round on the 10th hole with a birdie and added another on the 12th hole before finishing the side bogey-birdie.  After a par on the first hole, Ochoa made birdies on the second and third holes to get to four-under par.  She made birdie on the sixth hole followed by a bogey on the seventh before finishing with consecutive birdies on the eighth and ninth holes.

Ochoa is looking to also take home the Rolex Player of the Year trophy and the Vare Trophy, for lowest scoring average.  For Player of the Year, Ochoa trails rookie Jiyai Shin, who is trying to become the first player since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to win both player and rookie of the year honors.  Looking to capture her fourth straight Vare Trophy, Ochoa came into this week with a .o5 stroke lead over Shin and Cristie Kerr.

Rankin shot 67 in the first round and is one shot better than Taylor Leon, who is in third place at four-under par.  Yani Tseng, Kristy McPherson, Pat Hurst, Haeji Kang and Heather Bowie Young are tied for fourth place with opening rounds of 69.  Fifteen players are tied for ninth place at two-under par, including Shin, rookie Stacy Lewis and 2009 major champion winners Anna Nordqvist and Brittany Lincicome.  Also in that group are Juli Inkster, Allison Fouch, Na Yeon Choi, Sophie Gustafson, Meg Mallon, Ji Young Oh, Leta Lindley, Karin Sjodin, Irene Cho, Jimin Kang and Hee Young Park.

The two top ranked players in the world – Lorena Ochoa and Jiyai Shin – are not only gunning for their fourth wins of the season, they are playing for the Rolex Player of the Year trophy. For Ochoa, it would be her fourth straight honor. Shin, who already won the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, is looking to become the first player since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to win both awards in the same season.

With top players like Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr, the field also includes the four major championship winners – Brittany Lincicome, Anna Nordqvist, Catriona Matthew and Eun-Hee Ji. The only other multiple tournament winner on the LPGA this season – Na Yeon Choi – will be playing for her third win of 2009. Along with Hall of Fame veterans Karrie Webb, Juli Inkster and Se Ri Pak, ten LPGA Tour rookies will be looking to finish off their season with a win.

The format for the LPGA Tour Championship is very unique. There is an initial cut after 36 holes, dwindling the 120 player field to 70. Then, there is a second cut after 54 holes that brings the field down to 30 players for the final round.

A Rees Jones design, the Houstonian Golf and Country Club will play 6,650 yards at a par-72.

Wie, who shared the lead with Cristie Kerr at the start of the day, had to fight off a great charge by Creamer, who shot a two-under par, 70, as Kerr fell off pace with two late bogeys. Wie took a slight edge over Kerr with a birdie on the first hole. Both players made birdie on the third hole. After a bogey on the fifth hole, Kerr fell back into a tie for second place with Creamer, who made a birdie on the second hole to get to 10-under par. After splitting bogey-birdie on the sixth and seventh hole, Wie finished the front nine with a two shot lead over Kerr and Creamer.

Creamer moved into a tie with Wie after carding an eagle on the par-5, 10th hole. Kerr made birdies on the 10th and 11th holes to join them at 12-under par. Wie jumped ahead with a birdie on the 11th hole but made it a three-way tie with a bogey on the 12th. Creamer fell back a shot with a bogey on the 14th hole. Kerr made consecutive bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes to finish at 10-under par. Wie continued to make pars as Creamer, again, tied Wie at 12-under par after a birdie on the 16th hole. But, Creamer would bogey the 17th and par the 18th hole to finish at 11-under par.

Wie finished strong after landing her bunker shot on the 18th hole to 6-inches for the tap-in birdie.

Kerr finished tie for third place with Jiyai Shin and Morgan Pressel. Lorena Ochoa shot a three-under par, 69, to finish tied for sixth place with Song-Hee Kim. Brittany Lang, Catriona Matthew, Mariajo Uribe and M. J. Hur tied at five-under par in eighth place.

Ames got off to a great start, making four birdies in the first seven holes. His only bogey of the day came at the par-5, eighth hole. After the turn, Ames made three straight birdies on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes. He added another on the 16th hole before dropping the final one on the 18th hole to get to 18-under par for the week.

With Ames in the clubhouse, Leonard and McNeill couldn’t get one more birdie to move into the top spot. Leonard, who shot a bogey-free 67, made four birdies on the front nine but, didn’t make another after the 11th hole. Leonard thought he made a 16-foot birdie attempt on the final hole before watching it lip-out. McNeill started great with birdies on the second and fifth holes, with an eagle at the fourth. But, after a birdie on the 10th hole, he made bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes. He did recover with birdies on the 13th and 14th holes but could get one more to pass Ames.

In the playoff, Leonard left two putts short on the first sudden-death hole and was eliminated as Ames and McNeill made pars. With Ames in the hole with par, McNeill’s six-foot putt to force a third playoff hole spun around the cup before popping out and resting on the edge.

Finishing a shot out of the playoff were Justin Rose and Nick O’Hern at 17-under par. Mathias Gronberg shot 69 in the final round to finish in sixth place, two shots behind the leaders. Brian Davis and D. A. Points tied for seventh place. Zach Johnson and Carl Pettersson finished tied for ninth place at 14-under par.

Kerr shot a bogey-free 67 on Saturday to take the lead at 10-under par. She went out with birdies on the third and ninth holes. After starting the back nine with three pars, Kerr made a birdie on the 13th hole and an eagle on the 16th hole.

Wie, who is looking for her first LPGA victory, started the third round with birdies on the first two holes. She made pars through the 10th hole before going birdie-bogey-birdie on the 11th, 12th and 13th holes. Wie made bogey on the 15th hole and finished with pars and a share of the lead.

Shin, who led at the start of the round, shot a two-over par, 74, to fall into a tie with Creamer and Kim. Yani Tseng is in sixth place at seven-under par, with In-Kyung Kim a shot behind her in seventh. Suzann Pettersen is tied for eighth place at five-under par with Morgan Pressel, Kristy McPherson and Brittany Lang.

Tournament host, Lorena Ochoa is tied for 12th place at four-under par.

Mathias Gronberg shot a six-under par, 66, to catch leader Justin Leonard for a share of the lead at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic after three rounds at the Disney Magnolia Course in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The pair are joined at the top of the leaderboard with Justin Rose and George McNeill, who both started the round in second place.

Gronberg was bogey-free in the third round. After starting with one birdie in the first nine holes, Gronberg carded five on the back nine, making birdies on the 10th, 12th, 13th, 16th and 18th holes. Leonard shot 71, one-under par, on Saturday. He made birdies on two of the first four holes before making his first bogey on the sixth hole. After starting the back nine with a birdie, Leonard bogeyed the 11th and 17th holes, with a birdie on the 13th.

McNeill overcame a slow start to hold a two shot lead heading into the 18th hole. He was one-over par through five holes, making bogeys on the first and fifth holes with a birdie on the fourth. He found a groove with a birdie on the seventh hole, adding birdies on the ninth and 13th holes. McNeill also made eagles on the 10th and 14th holes that separated him from the pack. But, a bogey on the 17th was followed by a double-bogey on the 18th hole. Rose started the day with four pars before carding a bogey on the fifth hole. He then made five birdies over a nine hole stretch, between the eighth and 16th holes, before a bogey on the 17th hole.

Nick O’Hern and Carl Pettersson are tied for fifth place at 12-under par, one shot behind the leaders. Will MacKenzi is in seventh place with six players a shot behind him in eighth place. Tied for eighth place are Zach Johnson, Joe Ogilvie, Stephen Ames, Jeff Overton, Bill Haas and Matt Weinbring.

Shin, who currently leads the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year races, moved into the lead with a bogey-free round.  She made three birdies on the front nine – at the third, seventh and ninth holes.  Shin followed three pars to start the back with birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes before finishing with pars.

Wie shot 66 in the second round to move into a tie with Creamer, who carded a 69 to get to eight-under par.  First round leader Song-Hee Kim shot an even-par, 72, to slip to fourth place.  Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lang, Brittany Lincicome and Mariajo Uribe are tied for fifth place at five-under par, six shots behind Shin.  Tournament host, Lorena Ochoa shot 69 in the second round to move into a tie for 10th place at four-under par.  She is tied with Morgan Pressel, Yani Tseng, Kristy McPherson and M. J. Hur.

Leonard, who played Disney’s Palm Course, started the second round on the 10th hole and made four straight birdies.  A bogey on the 14th hole was followed by birdies on the 15th, 17th and 18th holes.  Leonard continued making birdies after the turn on the first and second holes.  He made a bogey on the third and sixth holes with birdies on the fourth and seventh holes.

Rose, who led at the start of the day, and McNeill both played the Magnolia Course in the second round and shot 69 and 66, respectively, to get to 10-under par for the tournament.  Tied for fourth place are Chris DiMarco, Tom Pernice, Jr., Tim Herron and Matt Weibring.  Zach Johnson is part of a eight-way tie for eighth place at seven-under par, five shots behind Leonard.  With Johnson are Carl Pettersson, Greg Owen, Kris Blanks, Casey Wittenberg, Bill Haas and Chez Reavie.

Rose, who started the first round on the 10th hole, made birdies on the 11th, 13th and 14th holes to get off to a solid start, closing out the side with pars.  After a birdie on the first hole, Rose added birdies on the fifth, sixth and seventh holes to compete the bogey-free day.

Fowler continues his amazing play in his quest to earn exempt status on the PGA TOUR.  He is tied with Owen and Wittenberg at six-under par.  Zach Johnson leads a group of six players tied at five-under par.  With Johnson are Will MacKenzie, Matt Bettencourt, Cliff Kresge, Rick Price and Kris Blanks.

Song-Hee Kim shot 65 in the first round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational at Guadalajara Country Club to lead the LPGA event by two shots over Paula Creamer, Jiyai Shin and Mariajo Uribe.  Tournament host, Lorena Ochoa is in 13th place with a one-under par, 71.

Kim was bogey-free in the first round.  After starting with two pars, she made birdies on the third and fifth holes before closing out the side with three straight birdies.  On the back nine, Kim birdied the 10th and 18th holes with seven pars in between.

Creamer, Shin and Uribe shot five-under par, 67s, in the first round.  They are a shot better than Eun-Hee Ji and Catriona Matthew, who are tied for fifth place.  Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lang and Brittany Lincicome are tied for seventh place at three-under par.  Michelle Wie, Katherine Hull and M. J. Hur are in 10th place with opening rounds of 70, two-under par.

Love comes into his title defense looking for his first victory of 2009.  He will have to watch for Zach Johnson, Steve Marino and Brian Gay – who are all looking to finish off great seasons with a win.  Also, the new TOUR sensation – Rickie Fowler – looks to play his way into a full exemption with a top 10 finish.

Fowler, who is playing in his third event as a professional (in part because the Viking Classic was canceled), has made the Fall Series a coming out party.  He finished tied for seventh place at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and tied for second at the Frys.com Open.

This year, Stanford will have to fight back 36 of the best players in the world.  Tournament host Ochoa is looking for her fourth win of the 2009 LPGA season.  Also, the fight for Player of the Year honors are at stake as the current points leader – Jiyai Shin – is in the field this week.  Shin, the number two golfer in the world, is trying to win not only the Player of the Year but, also, Rookie of the Year.  Other top players in Mexico this week are Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie.

The Guadalajara Country Club course will play to 6,638 yards and a par-72.

Song made five birdies through 13 holes before carding her only bogey of the day at the 14th hole.  She finished off the round with pars to keep a charging Ochoa at bay.  Ochoa shot 64 in the final round, with four birdies on the back nine, but came up short.  She tied for second place at 12-under par with Hee Young Park and Brittany Lang.

Jiyai Shin, Yani Tseng, Mi-Jeong Jeon and Inbee Park tied for fifth place at 11-under par.  In-Kyung Kim, Momoko Ueda and Rui Kitada finished tied for ninth place.

Mickelson made a clutch par save on the 16th hole to bounce back from a whiffed flop shot before making his 10-foot birdie putt on the next hole.  He shot 69, three-under par, to stay a shot ahead of Els, who shot a nine-under par, 63 in the final round.  Ryan Moore’s four-under par, 68, final round gave him sole possession of third place with Rory McIlroy, who shot 63 on Sunday, finishing a shot behind him in fourth.  Nick Watney finished in fifth place at 13-under par, four shots behind Mickelson.

Tiger Woods played in the final group but struggled to make birdies, shooting and even-par, 72.  Woods finished tied for sixth place with Martin Kaymer, who shot 67 in the final round.  Lee Westwood and Alvaro Quiros tied for eighth place at 11-under par.  Seven players tied for 10th place at 10-under par, including Geoff Ogilvy, Anthony Kim and Retief Goosen.  Also finishing at 10-under were Francesco Molinari, Soren Kjeldsen, Pat Perez and Daisuke Maruyama.

As Mickelson and Woods will take most of the attention, Watney will play with Ryan Moore, who is three shots back in fourth place at 11-under par.  Lee Westwood is in fifth place at 10-under with Anthony Kim and Jyoti Randhawa tied for sixth place.  Ernie Els, Ryo Ishikawa, Wen-tang Lin and Martin Kaymere are tied in eighth place at seven-under par, seven shots behind Mickelson.

Watney shot a course-record eight-under par, 64, to open the final World Golf Championship event of the season.

Ryan Moore, Martin Kaymer and Shane Lowry are tied for second place at six-under par.  Woods, Paul Casey, Anthony Kim and Wen-tang Lin are in fifth place, three shots behind Watney.  Rounding out the top 10 are Pat Perez, Matt Kuchar, Nick Dougherty and Jyoti Randhawa, who are tied at four-under par.

Other notables

Phil Mickelson is tied for 13th place after shooting 69 in the first round.  Last week’s World Match Play Championship winner Ross Fisher is tied with Camilo Villegas, Ernie Els, Lee Westwood and three others for 21st place at two-under par.  British Open champion Stewart Cink is at one-under par, while PGA Championship winner Y. E. Yang is tied with Geoff Ogilvy, Ian Poulter and Ryo Ishikawa at even-par.

Choi shot a bogey-free 67 in the final round.  She carded birdies on the first, fifth and seventh holes to get off to a great start.  Choi birdied the 15th hole before sinking the tournament-clinching birdie on the 18th hole.

Tseng shot 68 in the final round.  She made four birdies on the front nine, at the second, fourth, fifth and seventh holes, to shoot 32 on the front side.  Her only bogey came at the 12th hole and she finished the round with a birdie on the 18th hole to fall one shot short of a playoff.  Hjorth birdied six of the first eight holes but needed one more in her round of 67.  She finished with 10 straight pars to finish one shot behind Choi.

Ran Hong finished at four-under par and in fourth place.  Song-Hee Kim took fifth place at four-under par.  Jiyai Shin extended her leads on the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year races with a sixth place finish.  Brittany Lang tied for seventh place with Se Ri Pak, Anna Nordqvist and Inbee Park.

The LPGA will stay in Asia for another week as the Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club will host the Mizuno Classic in Shima-shi, Mie, Japan, where Shin is the defending champion.

The PGA TOUR announced that the Viking Classic will start on Sunday morning after the Annandale Country Club received up to two more inches of rain on Friday.  Tournament officials will meet at 10 a.m. to formulate a plan to play the Fall Series tournament.

Kung, who beat Katherine Hull by a shot last year, will face a field with 70 of the top players in golf, including Lorena Ochoa and rookie Jiyai Shin, the Rolex Ranking number one and two players, respectively.  Shin currently leads both the Rolex Player of the Year and Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year awards, looking to be the first player since Nancy Lopez in 1978 to win both in the same year.  Other top players in the field this week are Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Yani Tseng and In-Kyung Kim.

The tournament will be played on the Ocean Course, a 7,229 yard, par-72 Korean-style course with a view of the ocean.  It was designed by Jack Nicklaus and features long bunkers that follow the fairway.

Fowler was supposed to be teeing it up in the first stages of the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament but, with his second place finish last week, he moved into the top 150 on the money list and earned an exemption to the second stage of q-school.  Fowler looks to add on to his money total and get into the top 125 on the money list and earn full playing rights on the 2010 TOUR.

MacKenzie comes into this week much like last season, struggling.  A win would make 2009 a success but he will have to fend off hot players like Fowler.  Also, David Toms finished second last year and would like to notch his first win of the season as well.

Annandale Golf Club hosts the event and will play to 7,199 yards and a par-72.  Jack Nicklaus was the original architect for the course in 1980 and oversaw the remodel in 2006

Fowler, who has played in two PGA TOUR events since turning pro in September, is the latest American phenom to grace the links.  He joins Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan as part of an American revolution ready to take on the world’s next great crop, including Rory McIlroy and Ryo Ishikawa.

Next up for Fowler, getting his TOUR card to set up what could be a great 2010 season.

Matteson, who bogeyed the final two holes to send the tournament into a playoff, put his approach shot on the second playoff hole to 21-inches for a tap-in birdie.  Fowler and Lovemark could not convert their attempts to settle for pars and a tie for second place.

Matteson played well most of the final round, shooting 68.  After pars on the first three holes, he made an eagle on the fourth hole and birdied the sixth hole.  After a bogey on the seventh hole, Matteson made consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th holes.  But, Matteson did not finish strong, carding bogeys on the final two holes to fall back into a tie.

Fowler, in his second PGA event as a professional, got off to a great start, capped with a hole-in-one ont he fifth hole.  He opened the round with birdies on the first, second and fourth holes.  After a bogey on the ninth hole, Fowler made three straight birdies.  He made his first bogey on the 13th hole but recovered with a birdie on the next hole.  He did bogey the final hole to get into the playoff.

Lovemark started the final round with birdies on the first two holes.  He bogeyed the eighth hole to finish the side at one-under par.  After a par on the 10th hole, Lovemark made birdies on the 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th and 18th holes to move into position for the playoff.

Tim Clark finished tied for fourth place with Bill Lunde, two shots behind the leaders.  Mike Weir shot 61 in the final round to move into a tie for sixth place with Bryce Molder at 15-under par.  Heath Slocum, Ryan Moore, Alex Cejka, Nicholas Thompson and Chris Stroud tied for eighth place.