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. Louis Lipps Jersey . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Louis Lipps Youth Jersey . CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Pistons): Yes they got Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off-season and Andre Drummond is a beast (teams are kicking themselves for passing on him - he rebounds and block shots every game - thats two more discernable and significant skills than most guys in his draft class), but dont for a second discount the impact of having a savvy veteran like Billups on your team. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steelers-Antonio-Brown-Jersey/ . The 90-plus minutes of play are about trends and approach. Mel Blount Youth Jersey . According to a report from ESPN, the Green Bay Packers have re-signed the cornerback to a four-year, $39 million deal with a $12. Merril Hoge Youth Jersey . Sami Vatanen had a goal and an assist and Anaheim used a four-goal first period to extend their winning streak to six games with a 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night.TORONTO – Dave Bolland did not hesitate when asked who would win on Friday. "Canada," Bolland said with a smile. "Is that a question?" One day earlier, though, fellow Toronto Maple Leafs centre Nazem Kadri wasnt so sure his home and native land could pull off the win against the United States in the semi-finals of the Olympic hockey tournament. "I want to say Canada, but to be honest with you, the U.S. looks better," Kadri, a native of London, Ont., said. "We dont know if Naz is Canadian or American," Bolland, from Mimico, Ont., said with a chuckle. "We dont know what he is or who hes cheering for. He could be cheering for the Belarusians." Roommate Turmoil The North American rivalry has many fault lines throughout the Leafs dressing room even though a vast majority of the players – 20 in total – are Canadian. The issue: two of the key players on Team USA are also two-thirds of Torontos top line: Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. The man who centres that line in the NHL, Reginas Tyler Bozak, may be the Leaf who is most torn. After all, Bozak is close friends with Kessel and actually lives with the Leafs leading scorer. "Thats a tough question for me to answer," Bozak admitted when asked where his loyalties lie. "Ive got my two wingers on the U.S. and Im Canadian so I guess Im cheering for both. I just hope Phil and JVR play really well and maybe Canada wins. I dont know. "Its going to be an exciting game to watch, for sure. I really cant make any predictions. I dont know. The U.S. has been playing great. Canadas kind of snuck by with a few wins, buut every games different and it should be a fun one to watch.dddddddddddd" Another set of roommates are also at odds over the game and are actually putting their money where their mouthes are. Defencemen Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner, from Vancouver and Minnetonka, MN respectively, have placed a friendly wager on the game. "I cant tell you what it is," Rielly said. "Hes overconfident. I think Team Canada will be fine." Most Leafs, however, were trying to take the diplomatic approach with head coach and Sudbury, Ont. native Randy Carlyle, acknowledging the semi-final showdown "was pulling your heart strings in different directions." The Diplomatic Approach "We hope and wish our players all the luck in the world as far as an organization," said Carlyle, "but I am Canadian." "I hope that Phil and JVR do well," said captain Dion Phaneuf, who hails from Edmonton and was invited to Hockey Canadas orientation camp in the summer, "so Im in the middle, thats for sure. Any time you have teammates competing, you want them to do well, but Im Canadian and I have lots of respect for Hockey Canada." What everyone can agree on is that Kessel and van Riemsdyk are having a much better Sochi experience than Nikolai Kulemin, who was the other Leaf taking part in the Winter Games. "Nobody asks questions about how youre going to feel about Nikolai Kulemin coming back and thats a tough one," said Carlyle. "Host country and the way their tournament unravelled, hes part of our hockey club and weve got to find a way to build him back up and get him going again." ' ' '