SOUTHPORT, England -- Mo Martin has a plan for every golf course she plays, and its working at Royal Birkdale. The 31-year-old American is among the shortest hitters in womens golf, so she figured out the widest part of the fairways and keeps hitting them. It has produced 10 birdies in two days, a pair of 3-under 69s, and a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Ricoh Womens British Open. "Its always nice when your plan pans out," Martin said. "So its fun to be here." Michelle Wies plans did not include her searching for a flight home before the weekend. The U.S. Womens Open champion missed her first cut this year by not making enough birdies to account for too many times she had to scramble for par. She had rounds of 75-78. She still has that shiny trophy from her first major at home, though that was a small consolation. "It does still feel good," she said. "But Im disappointed in myself. I wanted to play well here." Martin was at 6-under 138, three shots ahead of Beatriz Recari (67) and So Yeon Ryu (70), who joined Martin as the only players to break par both days at Birkdale. Martin has never won on the LPGA Tour, and her plans figures to get a serious test over the final two days of a major, especially if the weather gets ugly. Here are five things to look for on the weekend of this LPGA major: MIGHTY MO: The UCLA grad passed her first big test Friday. She was among the last to tee off, when the wind usually is at its strongest. The 18-hole leader, Ayako Uehara, faded badly with a 44 on the back nine for a 79 to slip nine shots out of the lead. Martin produced a steady diet of fairways and greens. She was bogey-free on the front nine with two birdies. After back-to-back bogeys early on the front nine, she atoned with birdies on two par 5s for a 69. "Every hole, you have something to think about. Every single shot, you have something to think about," Martin said. "But theres fairway there, and theres green there, and thats what Im focusing on. ... My caddie and I just figured out where the widest parts of the fairway were, where I would have the best approaches into the greens." WIE AND ARNIE: Michelle Wie learned some history at Royal Birkdale on her way to missing the cut. She was on the cut line when her tee shot on the 16th went right and landed in a blackberry bush. She thought for a second she might get free relief because of a metal plaque in the ground that might impede her swing. But it wasnt in the way by mere inches. She took a penalty drop and wound up making double bogey. Wie was too disgusted to read what the plaque said. It was for Arnold Palmer, who in the 1961 British Open slashed a 6-iron out of that bush and onto the green to make par. He won by one shot to win his first British Open. And that daring move added to the lore of his go-for-broke nature that makes him such an endearing figure in the game. Wie listened to the details of Palmers shot and smiled. "Yeah," she said. "Didnt happen for me." ACCEPTING MISTAKES: So Yeon Ryu, a former U.S. Womens Open champion, ran into trouble on the second hole and took double bogey. She expects a few bad breaks, and some high numbers. The key is to move on, and that she did. Ryu didnt drop a shot the rest of the way and chalked up another solid round that put her in the hunt. "Links golf is always hard to predict," Ryu said. "Even when I hit the great shots, still can finish at the worst place. And when I hit the bad shots, still can finish close to the pin. So its really important, whatever the result, we need to accept it and just keep working. Today, I made a double bogey on the second hole, but I knew it was just unlucky. I just accepted it and then think about next holes, and it helped a lot." BAD STARTS: Lexi Thompson had the roughest start of them all. The Kraft Nabisco winner hit her opening tee shot out of bounds to the right. She reloaded and hit the next one out of bounds. The third shot was in play, but the ride was still bumpy. She made a 10. Just like that, she went from even par to 6 over. Thompson battled back with birdies and finished with a 77 to make the cut by one shot. GREAT FINISHES: Vikki Laing of Scotland was inside the cut line by one shot when she came to the par-5 17th. After a good drive, she hit 5-wood from 240 yards into the hole for an albatross, the rarest shot in golf. That gave her a 68, and she was at 2-over 146. Gary Gaetti Jersey . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept. Twins Jerseys China . 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The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday.WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - Billy Hurley III has been waiting for a breakthrough moment on the PGA Tour. On Independence Day, the former U.S. Navy officer might have set himself up for one this weekend in the Greenbrier Classic. Hurley shot a season-best 7-under 63 on Friday to take the second-round lead. Hurleys bogey-free round included a chip-in from 29 feet on No. 4 in cool conditions before the wind picked up considerably late in his morning round. "You know, anytime you play good, its great, right?" Hurley said. "Theres special days of the year for our country, and having served ... adds something to it. Its kind of pretty cool, I guess, to shoot 7 under on the 4th of July." Its a nice storyline. Then again, having military experience wasnt on his mind in jumping to the top of the leaderboard. "I was just trying to keep getting the ball in the hole," he said. Hurley was at 9-under 131 at Old White TPC. Eleven players were within four shots of him. Kevin Chappell (65) and Chris Stroud (66) were a stroke back. Troy Matteson Troy Matteson had a 61 to vault into fourth place at 7 under. He has made the cut in all five years of the Greenbrier Classic. Brice Garnett (66), Steve Stricker (68) and Chris Kirk (69) were another stroke back at 6 under. Hurley graduated from Annapolis in 2004 and spent five years in the Navy. He playing golf sparingly while stationed in Hawaii and worked out as much as he could. Being mentally tough on the course comes easy for Hurley, whose missions included steering a Navy destroyer through the Suez Canal. Playing partner Chris Stroud said it was "special" for a former military man to be leading the tournament and was amazed at how Hurley could recapture his golf game. "Theres a lot to be said about that," Stroud said. Hurley rejoined the PGA Tourr this season and has three top 10 finishes so far, including a tie for eighth at Congressional last week.dddddddddddd His best career finish is a tie for fourth in the AT&T National two years ago, also at Congressional. A solid ending at The Greenbrier resort would get him into the British Open later this month. The four best finishers not previously eligible among the top 12 on the final leaderboard will earn spots in the July 17-20 tournament at Royal Liverpool. Playing alongside good friend Hurley, Stroud birdied four of his first five holes but gained no more ground. Chappells round included holing a 35-yard pitch on the par-3 15th after a poor tee shot. Chappells only top 10 finish of the season came at Colonial. But this week, hes at ease amid the mountains, Howards Creek running through the Old White TPC and the rest of the resorts atmosphere. "You know, the course has a great flow to it, just at peace out there," he said. "All the running water and all the good scenery just puts me in a good spot." Matteson holed a 35-yard pitch on the par-3 15th and needed just 19 putts — one shy of the PGA Tour record held by eight players. "It was unlike any day Ive had this year," said Matteson, who had missed the cut in 11 of his previous 13 tournaments. "I just havent been getting it in the hole all year, and to have a day like this really kind of turns things around." Bubba Watson was among five players at 5 under. He shot 67. First-round leader Jonas Blixt had three early bogeys and shot 73 to drop into a tie for 25th at 3 under. FexEx Cup points leader Jimmy Walker (75) was among those who missed the cut. He finished 5 over. Ninety players advanced to weekend play at even par or better. Patrick Rodgers shot 75, but at even par for the tournament he made his third straight cut since turning pro. ' ' '