Groping for form after a long layoff and drawing a late tee-off time, Rosales bogeyed No. 7 and dropped two strokes on No. 10 before birdying No. 17 for that 74 at the Turtle Bay Resort’s Palmer course in Oahu.
It was a shaky start indeed for the 27-year-old ace Filipina shotmaker, who had looked forward to at least duplicating her fiery start here last year where she shot a 66 en route to posting a two-stroke victory over Cristie Kerr and then amateur Michelle Wie in this $1 million tournament kicking off the new LPGA season.
She stood eight strokes behind Grace Park, who came up with a solid 66 to post a two-stroke lead over Sherri Turner, Allison Hanna and Meena Lee, who all had 68s.
Becky Iverson had likewise a 6-under through 15 holes when play was halted because of darkness.
After heavy morning rain delayed the start by 50 minutes and soaked the oceanside course, the players enjoyed sunny and calm conditions for the rest of the day. Because of the wet and muddy conditions, the players were allowed to lift, clean and place their balls on the fairways.
"With all the rain we had overnight, the greens were definitely softer, slower. But still rolling very nicely," Park said.
Over in Malaysia, Frankie Miñoza opened up with back-to-back birdies from No. 10 but got stranded by rain delay after six holes in the second round of the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur. He had a running five-under card, counting his 69 Thursday.
David Park shot a 64 for a 131 as he took a one-shot lead over the Thai pair Thammanoon (65) and Thongjai Jaidee (63), who both had 132s. — With AP reports