HSBC Women's Champions separating the women from the girls

Holy cow, have you seen the HSBC Women’s Champions leaderboard? Lorena Ochoa, in her debut event of the season, is making a bold statement with two rounds of 66, 65. The statement, of course, is a rather loud “Move over, Annika, there’s a new number one in town.”

She is now seven strokes in the lead, at 13-under par. It would appear that the extra time she spent practicing in Mexico is paying off.

Tied for second seven strokes back is a threesome that includes Annika Sorenstam, Paula Creamer, and South Korean In-Kyung Kim, who made a bit of a statement herself yesterday with an eagle on number 9.

And don’t count out Karrie Webb, also making her season debut?she’s just a stroke off the Sorenstam, Creamer, Kim trio.

This inaugural tournament, which is being played in Singapore, was much anticipated as the season’s first head-to-head matchup of Sorenstam and Ochoa, with Paula Creamer looking for a repeat of last week’s Fields Open victory. So far it doesn’t disappoint.

Better to watch the leaderboard online, because television coverage of this inaugural tournament is, shall we say, minimal: just one hour a day.

Feb 29: 3-4 pm ET Golf Channel
Mar 1: 6:30-7:30 ET Golf Channel
Mar 2: 6:30-7:30 ET Golf Channel