Wie Becomes A Co-leader at LPGA TOUR Q-School

Oyama and Wie got off to a quick start, playing in the first and second groups, respectively on their course, off the tee and are just one stroke ahead of Stacy Lewis (69-66), of The Woodlands, Texas, who is in third place at 9-under-par 135.

Tops among the seven Canadians in the field is British Columbia's Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, who cut two strokes off her opening round of par 72 and moved into a tie for 19th at 142. Oshawa, Ontario's
Angela Buzminski also put herself back into contention with a 4-under 68 Thursday after starting with a disastrous 4-over 76 and is tied for 43rd.

After carding the first 8-under-par 64 in a LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament since 1999, the 31-year-old Oyama's second round on the Legends course was a solid 2-under-par 70 with three birdies on holes five, nine and 13, and just one bogey on hole 12.

"I was pretty consistent today. I hit almost every green today, so that helped," Oyama said. "I like the Legends course, but I made a 64 on the Champions course yesterday, so I like that one better. I just have to try to focus on my game for tomorrow and play well."

Co-leader Michelle Wie, of Honolulu, Hawaii, carded a field-low 7-under-par 65 on the Champions course to move from a first-round tie for sixth into a tie for the lead with Oyama. The mark is Wie's lowest score in competition since carding a 7-under-par 65 in the second round of the 2005 Samsung World Championship.

Stacy Lewis, the 2007 NCAA Champion, returned to the Legends course on Thursday - the site of her NCAA Championship victory, where she carded a 6-under-par 66 in the final round of the event to earn her individual medalist honors, which was also a school record for the University of Arkansas. Lewis' 6-under-par 66 on Thursday was the lowest carded by any of the 139 players on the Legends course this week. Improving on her first-round 3-under-par 69, Lewis is comfortable with her position, but knows there are three more days before she can earn medalist honors of another kind, which would come complete with 2009 LPGA Tour membership.

"I am here to win and, hopefully, I will make some more birdies," said Lewis, who will return to the Champions course for Friday's third round. "It's a marathon this week. You just have to stay patient and that's what I really tried to do today. I was over par early, then I just needed to putt more. I just have to go make some more birdies."

Lewis' round began on the 10th hole and she carded a bogey on the 378-yard, par-4 13th hole before birdies on holes 14 and 16 to make the turn at 1-under-par 35. Her back nine (front nine of the course) gave up five birdies on holes two, three, five, eight and nine for a 5-under-par 31.

Midway through the day, Duramed FUTURES Tour member Janell Howland, of Boise, Idaho, carded the first hole-in-one of the event on the 14th hole of the Champions course using a 7-iron from 152 yards. Howland made a move from a first-round tie for 33rd into sixth place via her second-round 5-under-par 67.

The five-day qualifier is played on both the Legends and Champions courses at LPGA International. For the third round, players will be repaired by scores within the group on their course and return to the course they played in the first round. A 72-hole cut will be made to the low-70 players and ties on Saturday. Those players will then compete Sunday on the Champions course for the final 18 holes of play.

The top 20 players at the conclusion of the event will earn Priority List Category 11. In the event of a tie, a playoff will decide the 20th position. Players finishing in the 21st through 30th spots will earn Priority List Category 16, followed by 31st to 40th, who will receive Priority List Category 20.|

LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament - FIRST ROUND
LPGA International, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Champions Course (C)) - 6473-yards, par 36-36--72
Legends Course (L) - 6468-yards, par 36-36--72,
(a-denotes amateur):

TOP TEN
T1 - Shiho Oyama, Japan 64-70 - 134 (-10) (C-L)
T1 - Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii 69-65 - 134 (-10) (L-C)
3 - Stacy Lewis,The Woodlands, Texas 69-66 - 135 (-9) (C-L)
T4 - Amy Yang, Seoul, South Korea 67-71 - 138 (-6) (C-L)
T4 - Mollie Fankhauser, Columbus, Ohio 67-71 - 138 (-6) (C-L)
T6 - Lisa Strom, North Wales, Pa. 73-66 - 139 (-5) (L-C)
T6 - Janell Howland, Boise, Idaho 72-67 - 139 (-5) (L-C)
T8 - Mika Miyazato (a) Japan 66-74 - 140 (-4) (C-L)
T8 - Sophie Giquel. Lyon, France 72-68 - 140 (-4) (L-C)
T9 - Carolina Llano, Colombia 70-70 - 140 (-4) (L-C)

CANADIANS
T19 -- Samantha Richdale, Kelowna, 72-70 - 142 (-2) (C-L)
T43 -- Angela Buzminski, Oshawa, ON (C) 76-68 - 144 (E) (C-L)
T80 -- Cindy Pasechnik, Calgary, AB (L) 71 76 - 147 (+3) (L-C)
T96 -- Jessica Shepley, Oakville, ON (C) 76-73 - 149 (+5) (L-C)
T96 -- Jennifer Greggain, Chilliwack, 78-71 - 149 (+5) (C-L)
T123 -- Lisa Meldrum, Montreal, PQ 79-74 - 153 (+9) (L-C)
T123 -- A.J Eathorne, Penticton, BC (LC) 4 76-73--149 (+5) (L-C)