KAHUKU — When the going got tough yesterday in the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, the highly ranked got going.

With the wind slapping Turtle Bay's Palmer Course at up to 25 mph, the leaderboard at the LPGA's season-opening tournament morphed into the first page of the Rolex World Rankings.

Sherri Steinhauer, Morgan Pressel and Paula Creamer share the lead going into this morning's final round. At 7-under-par 137, they are a shot ahead of Hee-Won Han and two up on Pat Hurst, Julieta Granada and Janice Moodie. Seon Hwa Lee and Lorena Ochoa and Karrie Webb — Nos. 2 and 3 in the world — are next.

Of those 10, only Moodie, who gave birth to her first child last year and played just 10 events, is not among the world's Top 25.

"It's such a difficult golf course ... cream-rises-to-the-top type of thing," was Creamer's explanation. "You have to think a lot out here. It's demanding on where you place balls, where you putt."

There were only eight rounds in the 60's. The low was 4-under-par 68, shot by Pressel, an 18-year-old ranked 20th after her first year on tour, along with Hurst and Rachel Hetherington.

Most simply tried to not get blown out of contention. Hilo's Kimberly Kim, 15, failed. The youngest U.S. Women's Amateur champion had three double bogeys and shot 79. Her 152 total missed the cut by four.

Those that will play on persevered. Thursday the top 15 was a combined 55-under; yesterday those same golfers were 8-over.

The best rode the wind onto a leaderboard any tournament would covet, even with Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie (Nos. 1 and 13 in the world) missing and not in action. Those in contention are established and offer a nice slice of the LPGA's most compelling quality — its ability to bring together the best female players from all over the planet and across the decades.

The generation gap might be best illustrated by the leaders. Steinhauer, 44, coached Creamer, 20, and Pressel, 18, at the inaugural Ping Junior Solheim Cup in 2002. All three have glowing memories of their week together in Minnesota, from the 17-7 smash of Europe to an outrageous ride to the mall.

Steinhauer and Pressel played together yesterday. The gap hit closest to home when the former captain realized her parents were older than Pressel's grandparents. "Morgan's eyes got about THIS big when I told her," Steinhauer recalled. "She couldn't even fathom that."

What Pressel could come to grips with would be a victory today, which would make her the youngest winner of a multi-round LPGA event in history — breaking Creamer's mark. Her rookie season last year was not what one of America's greatest juniors anticipated. She was good enough for nine Top-10 finishes but never great enough — particularly putting — to win.

When she double-bogeyed her first hole of 2007 Thursday, Pressel shook her head but wanted to slap it.

"I'm like, 'You really learned a lot last year,'" she recalled. "It was everything I had trouble with last year — the pulled iron and three-putt from 30 feet. I was like, 'I've really got this down.' But it meant a lot I was able to bounce back from it."

She rallied that day and had just one bogey yesterday. Maybe she did learn something.

"I learned it's a long season and the girls are really good," Pressel said. "You've got to play really well and you've got to be able to play smart. You've got to expect your opponents to hit great shots because chances are they will."

After 22 years out here, Steinhauer has less to learn. She has won seven times, including four majors and three Women's British Opens. She clearly thrives in the wind and, after a discouraging 2003 that had her contemplating quitting, her game is again thriving with a new coach and a refreshing attitude that favors fun over all else.

"At this point in my career," Steinhauer said, "if it hadn't worked out then I'm done."

Based on this week, she is anything but, though yesterday's 70 was an adventure. Steinhauer had just eight pars, talked "girl stuff" with Pressel all day and, instead of quitting, contemplated her "new life."

"The reason I make so many bogeys (four) is that I'm still working on things," Steinhauer said. "But the positive is that I made a lot of birdies today (six). It's given me kind of another life out here and it is more darn fun playing out here with these young players."

Creamer, the 2005 rookie of the year when she won twice, has gone 19 months without a victory. She hasn't led going into the final round for a year. She does not expect to chat it up with Steinhauer and Pressel today, but she will ease up enough to give herself more of a break than last year.

"I've kind of overcome that whole 'Let's try and win and win and win," she said. "I'm just going to let it happen. Last year was a lot of trying to force things. I just need to go out and play like I've been playing."

NOTEBOOK

The first cut of the year took a prominent toll. Jennifer Rosales and Joo Mi Kim, who won the first two SBS Opens, didn't make it. Neither did Meena Lee, who defends her Fields Open title next week, Ai Miyazato or Cristie Kerr. Monday qualifier Taylor Karle, 16, captured low amateur honors over Hilo's Kimberly Kim by a shot, but still won't play today. Neither will former Rainbow Wahine Cindy Rarick.

But, Christina Kim's bogey on the final group's final hole allowed Turtle Bay representative Dorothy Delasin, and 13 others at 4-over, to make the cut. That group includes LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster and future Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak.

Honolulu's Joe MacDonald, Volunteer Chair of the Turtle Bay Championship, has been named Champions Tour 2006 volunteer of the year. The announcement was made by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and Champions Tour President Rick George. MacDonald has been Volunteer Chairman of the Turtle Bay Championship since it moved to Kahuku in 2001. He spent 20 years in the military and was a pilot for Aloha Airlines for 18 years before retiring in 2006. He also volunteers for the SBS Open and Sony Open in Hawai'i.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.