Anheuser-Busch says that it can better promote its brand by spreading sponsorhip across the LPGA schedule; move ends Kingsmill’s 29-year relationship with professional golf.

Cristie Kerr shoots 1-under-par 71 en route to winning the tournament in what could be the LPGA’s final visit to Kingsmill.

WILLIAMSBURG IIf 90 percent of success is showing up, and if success really is a matter of hanging on after everyone else has let go, Cristie Kerr is on her way to the top. Kerr showed up for all 18 holes yesterday in the final round of the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Her closest competitors did not. Kerr seized an opportunity to win when it pre sented itself.

Michelle Wie, a full-fledged LPGA rookie after earning her tour card in the most recent qualifying school, seemed to bristle when asked whether she would make any changes if permitted to re-do the past few years. Wie attracted more than a bit of criticism for gobbling up sponsors exemptions and attempting to compete against PGA pros before she earned membership in - and the respect of - the LPGA.

A tournament that was Lorena Ochoa’s to lose is suddenly anyone’s to win. Lindsey Wright and Cristie Kerr played splendidly and well, respectively, on a breezy day on the lower James River to vault into a tie for first place heading into today’s final round of the $2.2 million Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Wright shot 64 and Kerr 66 yesterday. Kerr, striving to become the first two-time champion in the event’s seven-year history, pulled alongside Wright at 15 under by finishing with back-to-back birdies.

WILLIAMSBURG Cristie Kerr has learned two things that just about everyone would do well to remember. Don’t sweat the small stuff. And it’s all small stuff. “There’s a lot of pressure out here, and if you can learn how to deal with it and learn where to put it, it really doesn’t affect you,“ she said. “You realize it’s just stuff you make up in your head. There’s a lot of situations you put yourself in that you put more pressure on yourself when it’s really just hitting a golf shot.“

An uncharacteristic stumble at the finish line didn’t prevent Lorena Ochoa from pulling away from her pursuers at the Michelob Ultra Open. Ochoa, the world’s No.1-ranked female golfer, delivered a 6-under-par 65 yesterday and will carry a three-shot cushion into today’s third round on the Kingsmill Resort’s 6,315-yard River Course. Ochoa reached 14 under with a birdie on her 17th hole but returned that stroke by bogeying 18 (the par-4 ninth) from the bunker that guards the right side of the green.

Every time Beth Bader plays a hole, money is at stake. It has nothing to do with winning the tournament or where Bader finishes in the standings. Every birdie or eagle by Bader means she contributes $5 to research to find a cure for pancreatic cancer. Bader’s mother, Susan, was a victim of pancreatic cancer. “Birdies for a Breakthrough,“ Bader said.

(at Kingsmill)
a-amateur
Lorena Ochoa————————————-64-65—129
Song-Hee Kim————————————-69-63—132
Cristie Kerr————————————-69-63—132
In-Kyung Kim————————————-68-64—132
Lindsey Wright————————————-65-69—134
Yani Tseng————————————-71-64—135

Last year, Reilley Rankin forgot. This year, her memory is clear, and it has made a great deal of difference in her game. As she was practicing in preparation for the 2009 season, hitting every conceivable shot from every conceivable angle—uphill lies, downhill lies, sidehill lies—a thought came to Rankin. It’s a thought worth remembering no matter what your job.

  TODAY
FIRST TEE
8:58 a.m.—Stephanie Louden, Momoko Ueda, Katherine Hull 9:09—Kyeong Bae, Anna Rawson, Jane Park; 9:20—Kristy McPherson, Young Kim, Il Mi Chung; 9:31—Jin Joo Hong, Carin Koch, Reilley Rankin; 9:42—Jiyai Shin, Kris Tamulis, Giulia Sergas; 9:53—Allison Hanna-Williams, Hee Young Park, Juli Inkster

WILLIAMSBURG—Lorena Ochoa sank her third consecutive birdie putt, a five-footer at No. 11, to open a three-shot lead this afternoon at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill.

WILLIAMSBURG—Lorena Ochoa, the world’s No. 1-ranked female golfer, says she detests cold weather. Given the heat Ochoa brought to the Kingsmill Resort yesterday, cold didn’t stand a chance.

The first round of the Michelob Ultra Open was accompanied by weather that changed from dark, gloomy and rainy to windy with scattered clouds to bright and humid. Players were required to adjust tactics - and clothing - accordingly. “I had my rain gear on and off about three times today,“ said Lindsey Wright, who shot a 6-under-par 65 for sole possession of second place.

WILLIAMSBURG—Lorena Ochoa finished a sizzling round of 7-under 64 today to maintain her first-round lead at the Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill. Ochoa, the world’s top-ranked female golfer, leads Lindsey Wright by one stroke and Hee-Won Han by two.