EDINA, Minn. — Stacy Lewis was walking up the 16th fairway yesterday afternoon at Interlachen when she saw a leaderboard and turned to her father, who was carrying her bag in her professional debut.

"Hey," she told him, bumping his arm. "I'm tied for the lead in the Open."

Two holes later, Lewis watched one final birdie putt slip into the corner of the cup for a 6-under-par 67 that gave her a one-shot lead over Paula Creamer in the U.S. Women's Open, one round away from a completing a script right out of Hollywood.

Amazing, indeed, and not just because she turned pro 19 days ago.

Lewis spent her teen years in a back brace when doctors diagnosed her with scoliosis, only to learn that it didn't heal and she required surgery to install a steel rod and five screws in her vertebrae.

"I thought I was done playing golf forever," Lewis said.

Five years later, she is one round away from a U.S. Women's Open title that only she believed possible.

"I've accomplished my goal for the week," said Lewis, a former NCAA champion at Arkansas. "It was just to put myself in contention. And whatever happens tomorrow, it happens. I hope I win. I want to win ... probably more than anybody here. But I have to hit a lot of good golf shots before I win this golf tournament."

She will have to hold off a half-dozen players within four shots of the lead, starting with Creamer, who missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole and settled for a 69.

Creamer is two years younger but already in her fourth season on the LPGA Tour with six victories, enough for some to already anoint the 21-year-old product of a golf academy as the best player without a major.

"I couldn't ask for any better position," Creamer said. "Tomorrow I just have to go out and finish the deal. The course sets up really well for my game. And possibly, it's my time."

Lewis was at 9-under 210, setting up an all-American final group at the U.S. Women's Open for the first time in five years.

Helen Alfredsson stayed close to the lead throughout an afternoon of scattered clouds at Interlachen and came in at 71 to finish two shots out of the lead at 7-under 212, along with Inbee Park (71).

In-Kyung Kim had a 69 and was another shot behind, while eight-time LPGA Tour winner Mi Hyun Kim had a 70 for 214.

Lewis already has had a month to remember.

It began on the Old Course at St. Andrews on June 1, where she became the first player in Curtis Cup history to go 5-0 in leading the Americans to another victory. She turned pro on June 9, and won her Women's Open qualifier that day by four shots.

"I only play in golf tournaments to win," she said with quiet conviction, not bravado. "I'm not here to make the cut or finish top 10 or do any of that. I'm here to win. People might see that as arrogant, but I think if you're not here to win, you're never going to be successful."

Lorena Ochoa played the first four holes in 4 over and wound up with a 76, her highest score of the week, to end her chances. She was at 4-over 223.

"It's sad to see the tournament go, and now I have to wait one more year," she said.

Annika Sorenstam probably doesn't have that luxury. The three-time Open champion is retiring at the end of the year, and she wasted another day filled with birdie opportunities by converting only two of them in a round of 72 that left her seven shots behind.

WEEKEND OFF

All three Hawai'i golfers finished their second rounds yesterday and finished at 10-over-par 156, missing the cutoff score of 150.

Amateur Kimberly Kim, a 16-year-old former Big Island resident now living in Arizona, played one hole to finish off her 79. Pro Michelle Wie, a Punahou alum and Stanford student, also played one hole, carding a 75. Cyd Okino, a 14-year-old Punahou student, played four holes en route to a 77.