Associated Press
Thursday, August 31

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Karrie Webb, coming off a record-shattering victory last week in the Oldsmobile Classic, can tie an LPGA record with her seventh victory of the season this weekend in the State Farm Rail Classic.

She shot a second-round 61 to match the lowest score ever recorded in an LPGA event last week. That round helped Webb tie the tournament record of 265. She also broke her own tour record with a 54-hole score of 23-under par.

Webb, competing for a fifth straight week, is concerned about her stamina through the hot and humid days of late summer.

"I generally don't play five weeks in a row," she said. "But I realized I haven't played in Springfield before, so I wanted to make sure I put it on my schedule this year."

Webb, one of only four top-10 money winners competing this week, could continue her under-par run. The 6,400-yard, Robert Trent Jones layout has yielded birdies in bunches in the 25 years it has hosted one the oldest LPGA events.

First place at the Rail is worth $135,000 -- another big payday prospect for Webb, who has already broken her own record for season winnings and sits atop the money list with $1.68 million. That's more than $500,000 ahead of second-place Annika Sorenstam.

Sorenstam is skipping the Rail Classic, as are No. 3 Meg Mallon and No. 4 Juli Inskster.

The Rail Classic has the added bonus of being the final event in the State Farm Series, which pays the top point-getter in a series of televised events $100,000 from a $250,000 bonus pool.

Two-time winner Pat Hurst, No. 5 on the money list, trails Webb by 10 points heading into the Rail Classic. But the series-ending event is worth triple points, up to 300 for first place.

Three-time Rail champion Betsy King and two-time winners Pat Bradley and Nancy Lopez are in the field. Defending champion Mi Hyun Kim, who won the event last year on her way to becoming the LPGA rookie of the year, also returns.