By EDDIE PELLS
AP Sports Writer
CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo.
Michelle Wie and others in the young set are making a case that the future is now in women's golf. And that could be trouble for Annika Sorenstam's bid to make history.
Surprising Nicole Perrot shot 1-under-par 70 on Friday to finish at 2-under 140 and take a two-shot lead over Lorena Ochoa (68) and Wie, the 15-year-old prodigy from Hawaii, after the second round of the U.S. Open.
Teenagers Paula Creamer (1 over) and Morgan Pressel (2 over) also played their way into contention in the tournament, which has become anything but a coronation for Sorenstam.
Seeking the third leg of the Grand Slam, the best player in the world finished with three straight bogeys to stagger to a 4-over 75 and fall six shots behind Perrot.
"Right now, I want to forget about this round and come back tomorrow," said Sorenstam, who was in a six-way tie for 22nd. "Hopefully, it will go my way."
If not, there are plenty of young kids who would love to take her place.
The list starts with Wie, who kept her cool during a round of 1-over 73 and afterward said she was, indeed, ready to win the U.S. Open.
"If I never think I'm ready, then I can never win," Wie said. "Always think positively."
Pressel, the 17-year-old already playing in her third Open, kept it together after a tear-filled first round. She closed the day by nearly skimming the ball over the lake on No. 18, but getting the ball to the green in two, making her par and putting herself in decent position for the weekend.
"Four shots off with two days left?" Pressel said. "That's not bad. I could be higher, but I'll deal with it."
Creamer, 18, had the wildest day of all.
It included six birdies, four bogeys, one double bogey, an eagle, a trip to the top of the leaderboard and one trip to the bathroom to throw up. In the end, she too felt she had a chance at winning the Open in this, her first year as a pro.
"Anything can happen out there," she said, "and I'm a prime example of it."
Perrot was the biggest unknown among the leaders, although she has a resume as good as those she's trying to fend off. The U.S. Junior Girls Champion in 2001, she has slowly made her way through the ranks, coming from Chile to the LPGA Tour, and now in position to make a big splash.
Perrot started the tournament with three bogeys in her first five holes. Since then, she has been pretty much unflappable.
"You just keep playing shot by shot," she said. "You get in your moment. You have to accept it. That's the key to the sport, is learning to accept what happens."
Nobody has done it better over the years than Sorenstam, although there were moments during her round Friday that were confounding.
In an attempt to make up ground over the final three holes, she hit a tee shot into the rough and made a dubious decision to go for the green on No. 16. That was followed by another bad tee shot into rough so deep she had to lay up twice on the par-5 17th. Her shocking finish ended with a conservative play off the 18th tee, leaving her a 4-wood up the hill toward the green.
The result was three bogeys that dropped her three more strokes out of the lead.
"Sometimes you just can't analyze things," Sorenstam said. "You've got to drop it and move on."
She was practically offended when asked if she still had a chance to win the tournament.
"I have to play good golf, there's no doubt about it," she said. "But I'm a fighter. I'm not going to give up until the end. There's a long way to go."
While Sorenstam tries to make up ground, Wie can afford to continue on a gameplan that seemed to come right out of the U.S. Open guide.
She only used her driver twice during the round and generally played for the middle of greens to try to save par. She scrambled well, saving par with putts of 5 and 8 feet, twice lagging putts from across the green to tap-in range, and keeping herself at even par, enough to get into the last group for the third round Saturday.
When it was over, Wie said she had no regrets taking the conservative road.
"It's very tempting," she said. "You know, hit a heroic shot, it feels good, stuff like that. But, you know, you just have to play smart. I think that's what I did."
Playing a much different game was Laura Davies, who was in Wie's group but hardly playing at her level. The former Women's Open champion polished off an 84 in the morning _ her worst score ever in this championship _ and went for broke on every shot in posting an 81 in the second round.
Now, she's a golf fan with one simple request for Sunday.
"Michelle and Annika would be the dream ticket," Davies said.
One of them, Wie, has put herself in good position to be there.
Michelle Wie and others in the young set are making a case that the future is now in women's golf. And that could be trouble for Annika Sorenstam's bid to make history.