KAHUKU, Hawaii – American Angela Stanford shot a bogey-free 7-under 65 to claim the first round lead at the US LPGA Tour’s season-opening SBS Open on Thursday.
Michelle Wie made her much-anticipated debut as a full-fledged LPGA Tour member, and birdied her final three holes for a 66, putting her equal second with 2008 rookie of the year Yani Tseng of Taiwan.
The Philippines’ Jennifer Rosales shot an 73 to trail the leader by eight.
South Korea’s Kyeong Bae had 67, and Japan’s Momoko Ueda shot a 68.
Starting on 10th, Stanford got off to a hot start in her early round and could not be caught as increasing winds made play more difficult later in the day.
Stanford birdied the first two holes and made the turn at 4 under, and then birdied two of her final three holes for the outright lead. She hit all but one of the greens, but managed to save par on the par-3 fourth by dropping an 8-footer. (AP)