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2 months ago: PITTSFORD, NY - JUNE 25: Cristie Kerr waves to the crowd after finishing her round on the 18th hole during the second round of the LPGA Championship presented by Wegmans at Locust Hill Country Club on June 25, 2010 in Pittsford, New York. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

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Cristie Kerr had Low Round of the Day for the second straight time and now leads by five strokes at the LPGA Championship.  Inbee Park and Mika Miyazato are tied for second at -5 while Brittany Lincicome and Amy Yang are tied for fourth at -4.

It wasn't a perfect round of 66 by Kerr (she only hit five fairways, amazingly enough) but she didn't take any bogeys either.  Most of her margin was built with four birdies over her last five holes, and she would have made it five straight had she canned an eight-footer at 16 following a brilliant recovery shot from the trees.  Park and Miyazato carded 70s, identical in their four birdies and two bogeys.  Lincicome bogeyed three times but still fashioned a 69 out of it.  Yang birdied two holes late at 7 and 8 to post 67.  Equaling Amy's fine score were Jimin Kang (who started off with three straight birdies), Michele Redman and Na On Min, who are all tied for sixth place at -3 with Azahara Munoz.

Aside from Kerr, the first-round co-leaders didn't fare well on Friday.  Stacy Lewis and Seon Hwa Lee slipped to rounds of 74 - this despite Lewis birdying the first two.  Lee bogeyed her first four holes of the day but picked up a couple of back-nine birdies to reach -2.  They are tied for 10th with In-Kyung Kim and Jiyai Shin.  I understand Shin's appendectomy procedure used some new technology for removal which is less intrusive but her being in contention only two weeks later is still an incredible story.

The cut came at +4 and sent quite a few name players packing - Na Yeon Choi (snapping her made-cut streak at 63!), Jee Young Lee, Se Ri Pak, Hee Young Park, Kristy McPherson, Maria Hjorth, Momoko Ueda, Eun-Hee Ji and Karen Stupples.  Barely surviving were Ai Miyazato, Angela Stanford, Morgan Pressel, Sun Young Yoo and Katherine Hull.

When a player leads by five at the halfway point of a tournament, the tendency is to think that player has everything under control.  Folks, we've seen five shot leads disappear over a single nine.  Kerr played great the first two days but she's going to have to continue doing that to win her second major.  Given the same conditions as the first two days - even if she only falters to a 72 today, somebody will catch her.

UPDATE:  They are expecting rain this afternoon so the tee times have been moved up and the players will go off both 1 and 10.  The final threesome (Kerr, Park, Miyazato) tees off on #1 at 9am.