Sorenstam thinks she's on course for another win

Though the course has changed, Annika Sorenstam thinks she is still in command.

Though the course has changed, Annika Sorenstam thinks she is still in command.

She won the LPGA Michelob Light tournament three times when the event was at Forest Hills Country Club, a tight layout that penalises long hitters and scares many of them off. She likes the new site, Fox Run, even though it's more wide open.

"I do think on this course I'm going to hit my driver a little bit more often," Sorenstam said. "And not just because of the distance."

Sorenstam is the LPGA's second-leading money winner with $985,635, including five victories. She won on successive weekends last month.

"The adrenaline you get on Sunday when you're in competition, there's nothing better," Sorenstam said. "I love the competition."

At Forest Hills, Sorenstam said the strategically placed bunkers and creeks made it more advisable to use a 3-wood or 5-wood instead of the driver.

"Here, it looks like if you're driving well you can hit the drive most of the holes," she said. "But it does narrow in the middle of the fairway, so you can't just come out here and boom it and think you can score."

Sorenstam, who toured Fox Run in May, believes the course fits her game.

"I like to say it does, but I haven't played here," she said. "It looks like a fun course. If you drive it well, you have a great chance to hit some iron shots to the green, which is kind of my strength. So I don't see a reason why I can't play well here."

In fact, Sorenstam said the fairways are among the most narrow she's seen on the tour.

"The ones that hit it straight are going to be good here," Sorenstam said. "I don't know if it's going to benefit the long hitters, because it looks like you can be punished here."

The tournament is a three-day, 54-hole event for the first time.

"Four-day tournaments space out the field a little bit more," Sorenstam said. "But if you get off to a good start in a three-day tournament, you're going to be up there."