RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Lorena Ochoa went from firing at flags to grinding over every shot Friday afternoon as winds swirled under hazy clouds and made the Kraft Nabisco Championship feel more like a major.

All that mattered was keeping her lead, and a 1-under 71 was enough to do that.

"It's amazing how easy things were yesterday, and today I worked really hard for my 1 under," Ochoa said. "I was pleased with my round. I really like my position."

Coming off a 62 in the first round, which tied the lowest score ever in a major, Ochoa twice scrambled for par and pieced together enough birdies to maintain her four-shot lead over 16-year-old Michelle Wie.

Ochoa is at 11-under 133.

Wie, playing in her first tournament in five weeks, caught the brunt of the cool, gusty conditions and did well to shoot a 71. She had a three-putt bogey on her fourth hole (No. 13), then held herself together with par-saving putts of 4 feet on the next two holes.

She didn't miss her first green until No. 6 -- her 33rd hole of the tournament -- and saved par, then nearly holed out a chip on the eighth as she finished with five straight pars.

She will be in the final group with Ochoa, her first time in that spot since she was in the final threesome in the last round of the Kraft Nabisco in 2003 at age 13. Wie shot 76 that day and tied for ninth.

"I was flabbergasted," she said of that experience. "I wanted a second try at it."

Karrie Webb, inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame last November, provided the spark by holing a 7-iron from 152 yards for eagle on the 15th hole, stuffing another 7-iron into 10 feet on the next hole and shooting a 68 to finish at 6-under 138, along with Seon Hwa Lee, who shot her second straight 69.

Paula Creamer had a 71 and is at 140.

Annika Sorenstam's start toward the Grand Slam isn't going anywhere. She sputtered again in the first LPGA Tour major of the year, twice three-putting for bogey on her way to an even-par 72 that leaves her 10 shots behind.

She won last year by eight shots at Mission Hills and got halfway to the Grand Slam, then set that as her primary goal for this season. But this wasn't the start she had in mind.

"I'm playing good enough, but it's got to happen," Sorenstam said.

None of the early starters were able to do anything that made Ochoa worry. When the 24-year-old Mexican stepped to the first tee, she still had her four-shot lead over Wie and no one else was within six shots.

"I was happy to see that," Ochoa said. "That made me feel comfortable. But I didn't change my plans."

There was more wind in the afternoon, far more than there was Thursday in the opening round, and a testament to the conditions was the fact Ochoa took as much pride in two pars as any of her birdies.

She hit her tee shot on the sixth hole into the right rough, and thought it was too big of a gamble to try to hit over the water guarding the green. She laid up, then hit wedge from 90 yards into a foot to save par.

After dropping a shot on the 16th with another tee shot into the rough, Ochoa again was poised to make bogey when she missed the par-3 17th green well to the right. But her chip came off perfectly, over a ridge and bending down toward the hole until it stopped 3 feet away.

"It always feels good to be a little ahead of the players," Ochoa said.

But the tournament is only halfway over, and the Dinah Shore course is punishing enough that a five-shot lead is not enough to make anyone relax. Webb, who opened with a 70, tried to at least cut into the lead, and was carried along by a 33 on the back nine to get within range.

"When I made the turn, Lorena was at 10 under and I was at 3," Webb said. "I thought if I could get within five shots ... I had a pretty good chance with two days to go."

She also figured Ochoa's patience would be tested, especially after opening with a 62.

"Even if you shoot 70, you feel like you've shot 80," Webb said.

Asked what her 71 felt like, Ochoa smiled and said, "A 62."

Sorenstam felt as though she should have done much better, and the frustration showed. She was unable to get the ball close enough for a birdie chance, and missed the few opportunities she had.

"Today, the putter let me down a few times," said Sorenstam, who was at 1-under 143. "I want to have a score that reflects how I'm playing."

Sorenstam played the first two days with Creamer, who was headed for a tough round until a big par save. She flubbed a chip in front of the 16th green and had a long putt that she had to nestle close for bogey, then saw her tee shot on the par-3 17th come up short.

She hit a high flop out of the rough to 8 feet, and holed that to save par. Creamer continued to battle, even getting a good kick out of the trees on No. 9, and finished with a 71 to leave herself a chance.

"We need some help," Creamer said, looking at the wind swirl through the trees, and a leaderboard that showed Ochoa with a comfortable lead. "I know I'm going to have to play really good the last two days."

Morgan Pressel will have to do even better.

The 17-year-old rookie was in decent shape until a 41 on the back nine sent her to a 76. It came apart on the par-3 14th over water, when Pressel bladed a sand wedge out of the bunker, through the green and into the pond, leading to a triple bogey. She is 12 shots behind.

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