Cristie Kerr takes 2-shot lead at Women's Open

For Kerr, the Women's Open champion of 2007 at Pine Needles, it's a matter of sticking to her game plan on a difficult golf course with fairways that are running faster every day and greens that dried out yesterday in the strongest wind of the week.

"The temptation is to try and want to make more birdies," she said. "But I've said to myself it's equally important, if not more important, to try and eliminate mistakes this week. I think I've done that.

"You're going to make some bogeys on this golf course. It's kind of unavoidable. If I play smart and I get the speed on the putter the way I want it, I'll be happy at the end of the day."

Kerr said a key thus far, and again for today, is to keep from putting pressure on herself.

"I'm trying to be really selfish with the way I want to play, and that's what I've done every day," she said. "I have plenty to handle with this golf course that I don't need to be thinking about the results of how [today] is going to end up. If I do my job and play the way I want to, we'll see what happens."

Kerr needed just 30 inches of putts to make her two birdies, at Nos. 4 and 15. She saved par three times, once at the 13th hole where her chip smacked the pin and stopped on the lip of the hole.

"It definitely played tougher, and the wind dried up the greens," she said. "It was a lot tougher to get the ball close to the hole. The two shots I hit close were perfect golf shots. The pins weren't any easier today. They were just as sneaky as they have been."

While going about her business, Kerr saw her challengers mostly fall back.

Paula Creamer dropped out of contention with a triple-bogey 7 at the short par-4 10th hole and had a 79. Na Yeon Choi, the first-round leader, was lurking before bogeying each of her last three holes for a 76.

Jean Reynolds, a 24-year-old Georgian who plays on the Futures Tour, was doggedly hanging on to second place until she ran into problems down the stretch, registering bogeys on three of her last four holes. Her 74 put her in a third-place tie with Teresa Lu (70) at 215.

"I think it was more that I was just kind of pressing," Reynolds said. "I didn't want to finish bogey-bogey, but I'm still happy with where I stand."

Ji, however, moved steadily toward the leader thanks to a 32 on the back nine that featured birdies at the 10th, 14th, and 17th holes.

"I saw that I was gaining ground on the leader board," Ji said through an interpreter. "Every time I look up and see my name up there, it kind of gives me excitement. It makes me a little nervous, but in a good way."

Candie Kung of Taiwan also gained ground with a 68, the best round of the day. She vaulted from 37th place into a three-way tie for fifth at 216.

Kerr concluded her day with 2-putt pars at 17 and 18, barely beating a heavy shower that began a minute or two after the final putt dropped.

"I feel pretty good," she said. "I'm not nervous. I feel calm. I know what I've got to do tomorrow and I'm just going to go out and do it."