Annika Sorenstam pulled away early and had to catch up late Friday on what turned out to be a tumultuous second round for just about everyone in the Samsung world championship.

When it ended as clouds began to hover over Bighorn, Sorenstam nearly holed a sand wedge on the 18th hole for a tap-in birdie that salvaged a 1-under 71 and left her atop the leaderboard with Sophie Gustafson (70) and Paula Creamer (68).

They were at 6-under 138, one shot ahead of Women's British Open champion Sherri Steinhauer, who shot a bogey-free 67.

Lorena Ochoa (73) and Karrie Webb (69) were at 4-under 140 and faced a big weekend as Nos. 1-2 on the LPGA Tour money list and in the player-of-the-year race.

Michelle Wie had more adventures in the desert, joining caddie Fanny Sunesson in a rock removal project on the third hole to find a place in the sand to drop her ball, then taking double bogey when a pitch shot slammed into the bottom of the pin and caromed back some 10 feet. She took one other drop in desert fauna _ that makes six rulings in two days _ and shot 72 to finish eight shots behind.

``Is today Friday the 13th?'' Wie said after her round. ``Scary.''

It sure looked scary for the rest of the 20-player field early in the round when Sorenstam hit 9-iron to 11 feet for birdie on the second hole, then got up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the par-5 third for another birdie that gave her a quick lead at a tournament she is trying to win for a record sixth time.

More good luck came her way on No. 5, when she pulled a 6-iron, got a good bounce and watched the ball roll to about a foot for her third birdie of the round.

Everything changed just as quickly.

Coming off a three-putt bogey on the par-3 eighth, Sorenstam pulled her next tee shot into a desert bush and had nowhere to drop. She finally chose the cart path, which was a risky move. If it bounced sideways into the bush, it would be in play and she would have to take another penalty stroke. Holding her arm steady for the drop, it might have been her best move of the day.

``It was the most consistent,'' she said. ``Both landed in the same place.''

They settled outside the two club lengths she was allowed, so she was able to place it on the path and then take free relief onto the grass. But that was the only good news on No. 9, as Sorenstam came up short of the green, chipped weakly and made double bogey.

Gustafson surged ahead by two shots, only to give them back with consecutive bogeys.

Creamer, coming off a great rookie season, but winless in 2006, took advantage of both collapses with solid golf and a strong finish. She holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 16th, and her wedge to the final hole hopped onto the green about eight feet away for birdie.

``There's two days left, and I'm going to go for everything I can,'' Creamer said.

Her sophomore season has been a disappointment, particularly coming off a season in which she was LPGA rookie of the year and won two times, along with leading the Americans to victory in the Solheim Cup.

But she had a wrist injury that caused her to wear a brace in the summer, never came close in any of the majors and now has only a month left to find her first victory of the year.

``I want to know why I haven't won,'' Creamer said. ``It is my second year out here. That's great that everyone expects me to win. At the same time, it's hard. We've got players out here that are playing awesome. I give it my all every week.''

Expectations remain high for Wie, the 17-year-old high school senior who started her limited LPGA Tour season strong by nearly winning the first three majors. But coming off consecutive last-place finishes against the men, she is in a rare spot on the women's leaderboard, which would be near the bottom.

But she is leading the field in rulings.

``I think the rules officials are getting sick of me,'' Wie said.

Any hopes of a normal round at Bighorn ended on the par-5 third hole when Wie hit her drive so far to the right that she hit a provision in case it was lost. They found it, which was no bargain. It was buried in a desert bush, and the only place to drop was in a sandy area loaded with rocks.

As rules official Janet Lindsay looked on, Sunesson began picking up miniature boulders and heaving them out of the way to make room for a drop. Some of the rocks weighed close to 10 pounds, and before long, Wie bent over and started grabbing baseball-sized rocks and tossing them aside.

That was the easy part. If her drop didn't roll all the way down the slope, it would have landed in another bush. It was close, but Sunesson wisely chose a sand wedge to measure the two club lengths _ the ball was outside that _ and Wie was able to place the ball in the sand. It was a good break, but it didn't last long when the ball banged off the pin.

``A very interesting hole,'' Wie said.

She had to take another penalty shot on the par-5 15th, leading to bogey. Wie played the par 5s in 2 over, compared with 4 under in the first round. And barring a sensational finish, she will end her fourth year on the LPGA Tour without a victory _ although she has played no more than seven events a year, and started when she was 13.

``I think it's going to be a good weekend,'' she said.

But it won't be easy for anyone with Sorenstam atop the leaderboard. She is the two-time defending champion at Bighorn, and got away with mistakes to still be in control of this tournament as she goes for her 70th career victory.