Lee leads women's Australian Open

With Karrie Webb struggling, it was left to a bashful Korean just out of her teens
to show the way in the second round of the Women's Australian Open at Metropolitan.

Chang-Hee Lee, who turned 20 just two weeks ago, overhauled Webb's overnight
three-shot edge then claimed the outright lead at seven-under par when she added a
three-under par 70 to Thursday's 69.
Webb, the defending champion who is aiming for her fifth national crown, floundered
on Friday and was finally sunk by a double bogey five at the 13th.
She was left heading into the weekend sharing second place at five under with
England's Georgina Simpson and Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord.
Lee, whose best result has been a win on the Korean secondary tour, admitted she was
surprised to find herself atop the leaderboard ahead of a packed field of
internationals.
"I played well but I did not think I would be leading and it's too early to say
about the weekend - I don't want to jump ahead of myself," Lee said.
A philosophical approach allowed her to shoot low scores in both Thursday's tough,
windy conditions and Friday's contrasting calm.
"Before I teed off yesterday I thought, if I have a bogey, it will because it's a
tough day and I'll just accept it. If it's downwind I'll have less (distance to the
hole) and if it's into the wind I'll have more.
"I just wanted to play like that and accept it was going to be a hard day. "But
today everything was good. My tee shots, iron shots and putting were all good and if
I was in a bunker I got up and down."
Lee is making her first trip to Australia and has never played a sandbelt-style
course before, more used to the hilly layouts set into the mountains in her native
country.
But it appeared Metropolitan's toughness suited her perfectly.
"I like the course, there are so many bunkers so it is difficult," she said.
Webb was off to a bad start with a bogey at the opening hole but she wasn't too
displeased with her round, even claiming she did not hit a bad shot at the 13th
hole.
"I really did not think there would be low scores this afternoon and seven under was
in before I teed off," Webb said.
"I'm glad that I hung in there and am only two shots behind."
But she was ruing missed opportunities on the five par five holes.
"I did not play the par fives well, I parred all of them, I left a few shots out
there on the par fives," she said.
"Other than that I did not feel that I played too badly. Even my double bogey on 13,
I did not hit one bad shot ... it was one of those things."
Simpson fought wild afternoon wind yesterday but was kept afloat by her putting,
which stayed with her in Friday's benign conditions and boosted her into contention.
"Today the putts dropped for birdies, which was great," she said.
"Yesterday I needed them for par. I fought my way around yesterday which is what you
have to do in the wind.
"Today it was nice not to be fighting it and just play the golf course."