Hutchinson ? There are 78 bunkers defending Prairie Dunes Country Club’s 18 holes.

Friday afternoon it looked like Juli Inkster might get a good look at most of them.

Annika Sorenstam, right, shares a laugh with playing partner Juli Inkster as they walk off the sixth green during the U.S. Women's Open. Sorenstam was tied for the lead with Inkster and Laura Diaz following Friday's second round at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson.

Inkster was tied for the lead after the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday, but the American ran into trouble on her second hole Friday the par-4, 437-yard 11th hole when her drive landed in the rough. She was able to chip out, but her third shot landed in a green-side bunker and she took a double bogey.

Inkster’s ball landed in another bunker on the 13th fairway. The Hall of Famer tried to blast out of the hazard, but her shot clipped the lip of the bunker and bounced a few feet to her left on the fairway. She bogeyed the par-4 hole.

After four holes, the 1999 Open champion had fallen to even-par.

“I didn’t panic out there,” said Inkster, who rallied for a 2-over-par 72 and shared the second-round lead with American Laura Diaz and Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam at 1-under-par 139. “I knew I had a lot of golf in front of me.”

Inkster made three straight pars before making birdies on Nos. 17, 4 and 7 to reach 3-under par, but she gave up sole possession of the lead by bogeying Nos. 8 and 9 at the end of her round.

Sorenstam, playing with Inkster, also bogeyed No. 9 after she missed a 3-foot putt for par.

Diaz, the first-round co-leader with Inkster and Australia’s Shani Waugh, was playing in the group behind Inkster and Sorenstam. She parred the 399-yard par-4 to form a three-way tie.

Diaz started her day with a birdie on No. 10, but she bogeyed three of her next five holes and fell to 1-under.

The 27-year-old wasn’t satisfied with her 72, but she was thrilled with her spot on the leaderboard.

“This is my third Open and I’ve never made a cut, so I’m happy to be playing on the weekend,” said Diaz, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour this season.

Sorenstam was tied for the first-round lead with Inkster through 10 holes on Thursday, but she bogeyed 12, 13 and 14 and settled for 70 and entered the second round three strokes off the pace.

The two-time Open champion was 1-over after 12 holes Friday, but she birdied Nos. 4, 6 and 7 before missing the short par putt on No. 9. She finished with a 69 on a day when wind gusts reached 26 mph.

“I’m very pleased the way I played today,” said Sorenstam, a six-time winner this season. “I think just playing the course over and over gets me familiar with the course and the greens, and I had a lot of good shots today. I had a few birdie chances today, and I made them. I think that was the difference.”

American Michele Redman matched Sorenstam with a round of 69, which included six birdies. She was tied with Waugh at 140, one stroke off the pace.

Waugh was at 3-under after 10 holes, but she faded late with bogeys on Nos. 11, 14 and 16. Still, the Australian who’s never won an LPGA event in seven seasons was pleased with her 73 and her position.

“I would be really nervous if I was in the lead,” said Waugh, who missed the cut last year. “I’m glad to be a few shots behind. Maybe there won’t be as much attention on me. I’ll let Juli and Annika have all that.”

Not likely. Waugh will be paired with Sorenstam a fan favorite this afternoon, while Inkster will play in the final group with Diaz.

Six other players were within four shots of the lead. American Jill McGill was alone at 141 after an even-par round. Australian Michelle Ellis and American Jenna Daniels were tied at 142. Sorenstam’s younger sister, Charlotta, was at 143 with Scotland’s Janice Moodie and American Stephanie Keever.

On a course that saw 31 rounds of 80 or higher on Friday, none of the leaders were overconfident.

“This is a 72-hole event, and there’s 36 holes to go,” Diaz said.