82 will play for $2.6 million purse. The Ginn OPEN is the third-highest purse offered by the LPGA Tour in 2007 and 82 players made the cut at 2-over-par (146) to claim their share of the purse with the winner taking home $390,000 on Sunday. Laura Davies and Lorena Ochoa lead the field by three strokes at 12-under-par 132. Third-round play will begin Saturday morning at 7:15 in threesomes off both tees.

Davies, Ochoa lead the field by three. Laura Davies and Lorena Ochoa matched each other for the first two rounds of the Ginn OPEN at Ginn Reunion Resort with back-to-back 66s. Davies, a 20-time LPGA Tour winner, recorded two eagles en route to a second round 32-34=66 and a share of the lead at 12-under par 132. Davies, who last won on Tour in 2001 at the Wegmans Rochester International, started on the back nine and carded her first eagle on the 17th hole, where she hit a 5-iron to 16 feet. Her second eagle came on the third hole where she hit her approach to 20 feet with a two-iron and sank the putt. Davies, who was 31st on Tour last season with four eagles, now has three during the Ginn OPEN.

Not to be outdone, Ochoa followed her own opening-round 66 with the same score Friday afternoon, as Ochoa and Davies are tied for the lead for the second day in a row. The 2006 Rolex Player of the Year began her second round with a birdie on the first hole, but climbed to 1-over after a ruling and penalty stroke resulted in a double bogey on number three. She finished with consecutive birdies on the last two holes of the front nine before carding five additional birdies on the backside. Ochoa finished her round with four birdies on the final five holes. It marks her best start in 2007.

Gulbis turns in 66, jumps to third on leaderboard. Natalie Gulbis (69-66=135) fired a second-round 66 (-6) Friday morning, marking a season-best score, and jumped from a tie for seventh place after the first round to third on the leaderboard heading into weekend play at the Ginn OPEN. Gulbis started her day on the back nine, beginning with a birdie on the 528-yard, par-5 10th hole. She carded three additional birdies on holes 12, 16 and 17, to make the turn at 4-under. Gulbis was also bogey-free on the front nine, where birdies at holes one and nine dropped her to 6-under. Gulbis recorded a 69 during her first round, and is three strokes behind leader Laura Davies (-12). In her sixth year on Tour, Gulbis last carded a 66 at the 2006 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger, where she lost to Ginn OPEN defending champion Mi Hyun Kim on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff.

Defending champion Kim poised for weekend title defense. Mi Hyun Kim, winner of the inaugural 2006 Ginn OPEN, kept herself in the mix on Friday by registering a round of 69 to improve to 7-under par 137 (68-69) for the week. It was her second consecutive sub-70 round this week and her fourth sub-70 tally in six career rounds at the Ginn OPEN. Kim moved into sole possession of fourth place, five strokes behind leaders Laura Davies and Lorena Ochoa (-12). The South Korean used six birdies to overcome three bogeys on the afternoon. Kim will make the weekend push to become the first LPGA player to successfully defend a title since Annika Sorenstam won the MasterCard Classic Honoring Alejo Peralta in 2005 and 2006.

WD: Aram Cho and Jin Young Pak withdrew midway through the second round due to injuries. Candie Kung also withdrew from the Ginn OPEN during Friday's second round due to illness.
 

Second-round leader quotes:

Laura Davies | Lorena Ochoa | Natalie Gulbis | Mi Hyun Kim

Laura Davies, 66-66=132 (-12)
Scorecard: Hole 16, 194-yard par 3: bogey - 5-iron missed greed, chip to six feet
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5: eagle – driver, 5-iron to 16 feet
Hole 18, 421-yard par 4: birdie – driver into left rough, pitching wedge to 15 feet
Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: eagle – driver, 2-iron to 20 feet
Hole 5, 176-yard par 3: birdie – 7-iron to 10 feet
Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – chip to four feet

PAM WARNER: Thanks for coming in and joining us again today. Another great round out there for you with another 66 and you currently have a three shot lead. Just talk about your day today.
LAURA DAVIES: Yeah, it was very solid, very similar. I actually think I hit it a little better today than yesterday, but it was just a very solid round, two eagles today and I think three birdies and a bogey.

Q. What are you most satisfied with the past couple of days?
LAURA DAVIES: I think putting. Because I had been playing well recently, but I think putting is the difference between shooting 4 under for two days and shooting the 12 under that I am. That's by far the most gratifying part.

Q. You've had a lot of good finishes but no Top 10s; any signs this week that you were going to play well?
LAURA DAVIES: Well, I had been saying to people, my friends and family at home, "I feel like something good is going to happen." But I just keep finishing 13, 15, 20th and playing really good golf and they are probably getting fed up with hearing it; "oh, she's making it up again."

But I haven't, I've been playing really well and making nothing. If you don't make putts, you just don't compete.

Q. Greg's first week on the bag, when was it?
LAURA DAVIES: Jonny (Scott). First tournament was Norway in August.

Q. Does he get any credit?
LAURA DAVIES: He's a great caddie and a really good golfer himself. When I have awkward shots, like the shot into 18, or 9, the one we just finished off, he'll envision the shot and tell me what he thinks. He hits it a lot further than I do but still has the same feel for what shots I'll hit. And reading putts, he read two today actually and they both went in. So I think he's making a play to get back in on the greens.

Q. When is the last time you had results like this?
LAURA DAVIES: Well, last summer in Europe I finished second six times and I won once. So I've been playing I've been playing good golf. It's just when you're not putting the scores on the board on the LPGA, people think you've been not playing well anywhere. I was on the European Money List last year. It's not like I've been playing badly. I just haven't had good results on the LPGA for whatever reason; probably putting and a little lack of confidence over here.

Q. What changed last year? You had that bad start to the LPGA season and went overseas and played well.
LAURA DAVIES: I had one really good round. I shot 66 the first day in Switzerland and finished second that week, but things just started clicking back into shape.

Two weeks ago I noticed my ball position was a little bit too far forward and the bad shots I was hitting were the ones I could not quite catch up with the hands. And I moved the ball position and last week at Dinah played great. I should have finished a lot better than I did, and this week obviously is working out so far.

Q. Since you're only about three hours down the road from the Golf Hall of Fame, does that still play around in the mind?
LAURA DAVIES: Well, I'd like to do it, you know, simple as that. That's all there is to it. And if I don't, I will be disappointed because that means I wouldn't have won two more tournaments between now and when I stop playing over here. That would be a very disappointing end to a pretty long and decent career.

Q. Does it bother you at all that all of the good playing you've done in Europe doesn't kind of count, or do you think it should count?
LAURA DAVIES: Really if I decided to play more on the LPGA when I was playing my best golf, I would easily have won two more tournaments. But I chose to go back to Europe and play a bit more over there. If it costs me my spot in the Hall of Fame, fair enough. I made my decision at the time.

Q. Two part question for you. What's the toughest course you've ever played?
LAURA DAVIES: Royal Lytham because of the bunkering.

Q. And how does it compare to the course here?
LAURA DAVIES: There's no comparison. Lytham is an out and out links golf course. The bunkering is the golf course really whereas here, the bunkers are not that much of a hazard. They are such good bunkers and you can hit any shot you want out of them. So they don't really stack up at all for comparison. But this is a great golf course for lots of other reasons.

Q. How high is your confidence level after these first couple of days?
LAURA DAVIES: Well, it's early days yet. Obviously like you said, I haven't won for six years on this tour, so I would be a mug to say I'm going to breeze out there tomorrow and Sunday and say I'm not going to feel nervous because I will do. And hopefully I will enjoy it. I like my draw with Natalie because I like playing with Natalie. That will be a good draw tomorrow if no one else passes her.

Q. Why do you like playing with Natalie?
LAURA DAVIES: She's nice, good to play with. She doesn't get too up or too down and she chats away. I had a good pairing the first two days, those two, very friendly.

Q. When you won last year, you said you were at the point where you kept thinking each win might be your last
LAURA DAVIES: No. I always said "could be." You never know, could be your last, so you've got to enjoy them.

I'm hoping I'll win 20 more times. That's what I think I can do. Otherwise I wouldn't even bother turning up this week. That's my goal to try to get up about 80 something wins and then pack it up. You have to set your goals high or else what's the point of staying here.

Lorena Ochoa, 66-66=132 (-12)
Scorecard: Hole 1, 389-yard par 4: birdie – 7-iron from 145 yards to two feet
Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: double bogey – after a ruling and penalty stroke, approach shot short of the green, chip to 25 feet, two putt
Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – tried to drive the green, chip from rough to two feet
Hole 8, 406-yard par 4: birdie – 7-iron form 155 yards to 10 feet
Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: birdie – sand wedge from 75 yards to five feet
Hole 14, 387-yard par 4: birdie – 9-iron from 140 yards to 15 feet
Hole 16, 194-yard par 3: birdie – 4-iron to two feet
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5: birdie – flop shot out of right rough to seven feet
Hole 18, 421-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron from 145 yards to 35 feet

DANA GROSS RHODE: Lorena, you had a fantastic round. You obviously matched Laura Davies with your two rounds, back to back 66s.
LORENA OCHOA: It was a good round because the way I started with that double bogey early in the day, I really didn't get angry or anything. I just thought, ‘There's a lot of holes left and you're going to be fine.' I'm glad the way I finished. I'm really happy with my round.

Q. Did you know what Laura shot? Were you paying attention to the score board on Friday?
LORENA OCHOA: Yes, I was. I think the first time I saw it was on hole number seven, when I tried to hit the green in one, and I saw the board and saw that she was at 12. Yeah, I was surprised to see the gap between like four or five players and that we were a little bit apart. I was 5 under at the time and I thought, I'm fine. I'm just going to make sure I get in the last group on Saturday. So that just looked like a turning point and I started making birdies and I get a good rhythm.

Q. When you finished birdie, birdie, birdie, do you almost wish you could keep playing?
LORENA OCHOA: I'm tired, no. (Laughing) No, I'm ready to go and rest for tomorrow.

Q. What happened on number three? Is that the kind of thing that you've learned to handle better over the last couple years?
LORENA OCHOA: To be honest, I'm very disappointed with myself. I think I rushed a little bit. I think I should have either asked him to move the chair and if it moves the ball, nothing will happen, or handle things differently.

Brittany came and said, ‘You know, you can mark the ball.' So I just didn't even think about it. I marked the ball and it was reaction; just picked up the ball, so it was a silly mistake. I should know better. This is my fifth year on Tour. But you learn and I guess I just need to take more time and try to talk through what I'm going to do with my caddie and just try to make sure that I make the best decision out of something like that.

Q. Twelve under was what won the tournament last year; can you talk about why you think the scores are lower?
LORENA OCHOA: I think because of the greens to start. They are very soft because of the rain that we had a few days ago. The rough, it was really high last year. It was a really big struggle. If you hit in the rough, you were dead. Today, it's a little more easy to put the ball out and to give yourself a chance to put the ball on the green. That's the big difference, and the greens were just like ice, very, very fast greens and they are a lot easier this year.

Q. You have a Superman club-head cover; who gave that to you and what's the significance?
LORENA OCHOA: I've had that since college. Just a friend gave it to me. In college, my coaches called me ‘Super Ochoa.' It's not a nickname, but it's something that it brings me good memories from my college time. I really enjoyed my time at the university and it was really good atmosphere just being around the team and the coach. It's kind of like my lucky head cover.

Q. Playing with Laura, she's a pretty fast player, obviously a long player; what do you think about that, playing with her tomorrow?
LORENA OCHOA: I love playing with her. I really enjoy playing with her. I think just the way she handles her game and how much she loves to play and to be on the top, I admire her very much and she's very impressive. When I was growing up I always look up to her, like looking at her hit 2 irons and 3 irons. So I always enjoy very much playing with her. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.

Natalie Gulbis, 69-66=135 (-9)
Scorecard: Hole 10, 528-yard par 5: birdie – lob wedge to 15 feet
Hole 12, 153-yard par 3: birdie – 9-iron to 10 feet
Hole 16, 194-yard par 3: birdie – rescue club to 15 feet
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5:birdie – wedge to 5 feet
Hole 1, 389-yard par 4: birdie – 8-iron to two feet
Hole 9, 492-yard par 5: birdie – lob wedge to 10 feet

PAM WARNER: Natalie, thanks for coming in and joining us today. Great round out there. You shot 66 today and are currently three shots off the lead and in second place. Just talk about how you played today.
NATALIE GULBIS: Played very good. I played pretty similar to yesterday just without a couple of mistakes. I hit a lot of fairways, greens and made putts.

Q. After you birdied No. 1 from like two feet could have been a better score, 8 under easy?
NATALIE GULBIS: Yeah, today was one of those easy rounds of golf. I hit a lot of fairways. I had a lot of opportunities, didn't get into too much trouble. One of those boring rounds of golf I really like.

Q. Also on the 4th hole you were close.
NATALIE GULBIS: Yeah, it was one of the few greens I missed. So the birdie putts I missed, I made up for by making a good par putt there.

Q. You're already one of the most popular players on Tour, but what would a victory, your first one on Tour, mean?
NATALIE GULBIS: It would mean a lot to me. That's one of my goals. That's why I play and I come out every week to win the tournament. So personally it would supersede anything.

Q. There's a name on the board we have not seen win in a while, Laura Davies. She has not won in like six years. With all of these young guns, what does it mean when you have a veteran leading the way so far?
NATALIE GULBIS: Laura is a great player. She's got a lot of motivation. I think she's, what, one victory short of making the Hall of Fame, and she's been a great player for years. She's a phenomenal player with all of those victories and all of those wins. I think you're surprised when you don't see her on the leaderboard.

Q. Is there something about this course that particularly sets up well for you, or are you just at the top of your game right now?
NATALIE GULBIS: Just working hard on my game more than anything. Working hard on my irons. I know that you have to hit a lot of fairways, so I've just been practicing a lot and that's what I'm going to go out and do again and do the same thing for the next couple of days.

I do like this golf course. I really like it. It's in such good shape, and if you hit good shots, you definitely can make some birdies out here.

Q. I know you were signing lot of autographs, and I think I heard you were signing some during the round; talk about the importance of connecting with your fan base and being acceptable to them.
NATALIE GULBIS: I'm just thrilled to have fans. It's really, really flattering to have somebody want your autograph. That's been it's been a really fun part about being a professional athlete and being a professional golfer is having fans that are out there cheering for you and wanting the best for you and want you to sign things.

You know, I'm just really lucky to have them out there. I think we all are.

Q. You seem relaxed this week, is that typical or because you're playing so well?
NATALIE GULBIS: Typical. I like to do all of my hard work before and then when I get out there just try and enjoy myself. I love what I do, living my dream and being a professional golfer.

Once I put all of my time in, I definitely grind from right before the shot and when I hit the shot, but you know, we're out there for a long time. Five hours is a long time and I don't think maybe players can hold their concentration for five hours but I enjoying being out there too.

Q. Have you envisioned what it's going to be like when you break through and get a victory?
NATALIE GULBIS: Looking forward to it.

Q. Have you imagined celebrating?
NATALIE GULBIS: For sure, absolutely. I think I have since I was five or six years old.

Q. What's it look like? What does that vision look like?
NATALIE GULBIS: What does the vision look like? You know, I've won a lot of tournaments as an amateur, so it would be pretty much just the same feeling. Not only winning the event, but getting to celebrate it with your friends and family and thank all of the people that have supported you along the way.

Mi Hyun Kim, 68-69=137 (-7)
Scorecard: Hole 13, 408-yard par 4: birdie – 5-iron from 160 yards to 10 feet
Hole 14, 387-yard par 4: birdie – pitching wedge from 110 yards to five feet
Hole 15, 340-yard par 4: birdie – gap wedge from 80 yards to six feet
Hole 17, 508-yard par 5: birdie – sand wedge from 70 yards to 12 feet
Hole 18, 421-yard par 4: bogey – second shot over the green, chip from 50 feet off the green to 30 feet, two putt
Hole 1, 389-yard par 4: bogey – 5-iron from 160 yards missed the green right, chip to five feet, missed putt
Hole 3, 518-yard par 5: birdie – gap wedge from 90 yards to 20 feet
Hole 7, 303-yard par 4: birdie – gap wedge from 70 yards to five feet
Hole 8, 406-yard par 4: bogey – second shot over the green, chip to seven feet, two putt

Q. Good round, Mi Hyun. Can you talk about today?
MI HYUN KIM: I had a lot of good shots and good putts. I had four birdies on the back nine (course), but made bogey on 18 (her ninth); my second shot went over the green.

Q. How are the greens today?
MI HYUN KIM: They are still soft. My memories are from last year that the greens are firm and sometimes I think my putts will roll more. Sometimes when I hit, the ball is way short because of my memories. The greens are good, the fairways are good.

Q. How does this course compare to last year?
MI HYUN KIM: Last year, you had to be smart. The fairways are softer this year, so it's good for the long hitter.

Q. How do you adjust your game to the soft greens?
MI HYUN KIM: I can try the high shots sometimes into the wind because they stop quicker. Downwind, the greens roll, so I try the high shot. On number eight, it's a right-side pin and downwind, so it is hard to get it to stop on the green.

Q. How hard is it to repeat as champion?
MI HYUN KIM: I just keep trying. My swing is good, my short game is working good. I keep trying; I hope, I wish.

Q. Do you feel any extra pressure or expectations to win?
MI HYUN KIM: A lot of pressure. It's my hometown, too—I live 30 minutes from here. My friends come here and cheer for me and church people come and cheer for me. I'm used to, when I miss a putt to react angry, but I can't anymore because my church people are here.

Q. How do you build your confidence to win?
MI HYUN KIM: It's not about how you build confidence, but about building the skills. I changed my swing, tweaked my tempo. The win came to me, not I was going for the win.

Q. What swing changes did you make?
MI HYUN KIM: Shorter back swing and faster at impact.