Davies chases place in Hall of Fame

Britain’s Laura Davies needs a fifth major title to claim a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame and she goes into the Kraft Nabisco Championship knowing time is running out.

However, the 43-year-old former world number one can point to reasons to be confident.

She was the leading player in Europe for a record seventh time last season and had a top 15 in the Safeway International in Arizona on Sunday.

And she has a great track record over the Mission Hills Country club course that is annual host to the Kraft. She was second in 1994 and has had another three top-five finishes over a course that she ranks as her all-time favourite.

“I’m feeling good and I would love to win here,” she admitted.

“My driving has been great the last few weeks and I should have finished even higher last week.”

Catriona Matthew tied for fifth place in the Safeway tournament on her first outing since becoming a mum to daughter Katie in December. The Scot admitted the result was a bit if a shock.

“I didn’t really know what to expect so to finish fifth was a real bonus,” she said. “I just hope it can be something the same this week.”

Janice Moodie, another Scot who is a new mum, and Wales’ Becky Morgan are the other British players in the field.

Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa, beaten by Karrie Webb in a play-off last year, starts as favourite. She won the Safeway title on Sunday and victory on Sunday would see her take over from Annika Sorenstam as the world number one.

“I would love to win my first major and to become the world number one,” said the 25-year-old who was the leading player on the LPGA Tour last year.

But Sorenstam is not ready to hand over her crown. “I want to win more majors. It’s the big tournaments that get the blood pumping and keep me excited,” said the 36-year-old, who numbers 10 of the big four among her 69 LPGA victories.

“The gap in the world rankings is getting smaller and Lorena is playing superb golf. But I am very happy with the way I am playing. I struggled a little with my swing last year but the difference already this season is huge.”

Webb, the predecessor to Sorenstam as world number one, won in dramatic fashion last year. She holed a 116-yard shot for an eagle three at the 18th before going on to beat Ochoa in the play-off. She claims the shot was “the biggest of my career”.

It launched a great comeback 2006 season in which she won five times on the LPGA Tour.

This year she has opened with back-to-back wins in the Women’s Open and the Masters in her native Australia.

One name missing this year is Michelle Wie. The 17-year-old superstar hurt her wrist in a fall when she was out running last month and announced her withdrawal late last week.