NEWPORT, R.I. — Michelle Wie took a penalty stroke to escape the bushes and had to drop in the mud and muck, turning that adventure into an amazing par that kept alive her hopes yesterday at the U.S. Women's Open.

Pat Hurst made two straight bogeys that sent her tumbling out of the lead, including one from a mud-caked lie in the bunker that she blasted over the 13th green. Stacy Prammanasudh dropped five shots in five holes, then recovered with two birdies in a roller-coaster finish. Paula Creamer struggled to find the fairway and to keep her calm.

And where was Annika Sorenstam during this laborious afternoon at Newport Country Club?

Relaxing in her palatial quarters, tied for the lead and saving her energy for a 36-hole finish today.

"I'm sure she's home just getting out of the covers from a nice, two-hour nap," Juli Inkster said after scrapping around Newport for more than five hours in the sun for a 1-under 70, one of only three players to break par in the second round.

Sorenstam couldn't have asked for a better day. She played solidly in a round of even-par 71 that she finished about 1 p.m., putting her at 2-under 140 and in a share of the lead with Hurst, who steadied herself with a birdie on the par-5 16th for a 71.

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow, and I think the key for me now is to get some lunch and rest, and totally recharge my batteries, and give it my all tomorrow," Sorenstam said.

Sorenstam and Hurst were the only players still under par. They were two shots ahead of Shi Hyun Ahn (71), 19-year-old amateur Jane Park (73) and the 16-year-old Wie, who again captivated the crowd by taking the lead, losing it with a double bogey out of a muddy bunker and saving her day with that improbable par on No. 7.

"It was all-in-all a very good hole," Wie said. "Right after it went in the hole, I laughed at myself. It was pretty ridiculous."

Now comes the biggest test of all.

The pressure in the final round already is enormous at the U.S. Women's Open, by far the biggest championship in women's golf. But they first have to play 18 holes to get there, making for a 10-hour day on a course that is relentless.

"It's going to be a grind. You've just got to hang tough and try not to blow a gasket out there," said Inkster, whose 70 left her very much in the hunt at 1-over 143, along with Creamer (72) and five-time major winner Se Ri Pak (74).

Dense fog that wiped out Thursday's first round is the culprit for the first 36-hole Sunday at the Women's Open since 1990, and what happened that day is a reminder that this tournament is far from over. Betsy King overcame an 11-shot deficit at Atlanta Athletic Club to overcome fast-fading Patty Sheehan.

Even with Sorenstam atop the leaderboard, looking determined to end her 10-year drought in the Women's Open, this tournament is still up for grabs. There are 18 players within five shots of the lead.

"Today is normally moving day," Creamer said. "Tomorrow, we're just going to have to keep it going."

Sorenstam played another tidy round in mild breezes, opening with 13 consecutive pars until she hit a 4-iron to 15 feet on the par-3 fifth. It was back-and-forth from there, a 7-wood that didn't reach the sixth green for bogey, a 15-foot birdie putt on the seventh that hung briefly on the edge of the cup before falling, and a bogey on the ninth when her 7-wood from the rough came up short.

"I'm tired after 71 shots," Sorenstam said. "Tomorrow is going to be probably double that, and that takes a lot out of you."

For Wie, it was all she could do to hang on in the second round.

Her confidence was high after saving par with an 8-foot putt on the 10th hole, making a 15-foot birdie on the 12th, and bouncing back from a bogey on the 15th by nearly reaching the 549-yard 16th in two shots.

Then came a 6-iron that leaked into a bunker on the par-3 17th, settling in a large puddle from so much rain earlier in the week. After dropping in mud-caked sand, she tried to get it close to the hole and didn't get out of the sand, fortunate to escape after that with double bogey.

Nothing quite topped the par at No. 7.

First came a fairway metal that hooked so badly, Wie hit a provisional in case the ball was lost. She found the original, and took a one-shot unplayable lie penalty with two club lengths of relief, although that was no bargain.

"I saw the area where I was going to drop it and said, 'Oh, great. I'm either going to be in the weeds or I'm going to be in a mud patch.' I tried to land it on a piece of grass."

She missed, and it sat in the muck of trampled weeds. Taking her right hand off the club at impact, she hammered an 8-iron from 140 yards and it came out perfectly, setting up a 15-foot par-saving putt.

Wie has been a factor on Sunday in the last five majors, and her putting stroke was far improved than three weeks ago at the LPGA Championship, when she took a dozen more putts than Pak in finishing two shots out of the playoff.

"It's going to be the first time playing 36 holes in the U.S. Open," Wie said. "It's going to be a fun ride, playing 36 holes in one day. I'm not going to take it too seriously, try not to pump myself up too early. Play hole by hole, and eventually it will add up to 36."

If only it were that simple.

King's victory in 1990 showed that momentum can change quickly, and even a deficit that reaches double digits is no reason to lose hope. Throw in a U.S. Open course, and today will be a matter of who can survive.

"Thirty-six holes on another golf course would be no problem," Inkster said. "Out here, you're going to have to hit the ball solid."

Inkster was reminded of the strange week when she finished her 18th hole, traded hugs with her playing partners and said what she always does after the second round of a tournament — good luck on the weekend.

Then she caught herself.

"Have a good day tomorrow," she said.