Ochoa fires opening 65; Delasin saves par

MORELIA, Mexico – Defending champion Lorena Ochoa shot a bogey-free 8-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Michelle Wie and Na Yeon Choi after the first round of the Corona Championship on Thursday.

“It was a good day. There is really not much more to add if you look at the score, I’m very happy because I’m in control,” said Ochoa, the top-ranked Mexican star who also won the 2006 tournament at Tres Marias.

“It’s very exciting to be in a position that I like. Hopefully, we can stay there the next three days, because my goal is to win it.”

Fil-American Dorothy Delasin shot a 36-36 for an even par 72.

Wie, who started on No. 10, eagled the par-5 fifth – hitting a 5-wood to 4 feet – and birdied three of her final four holes. She made a 15-footer on No. 6, a 4-footer on No. 8 and finished with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 9.

“The greens were interesting,” Wie said. “They are in great condition. They give character to the golf course. It is a lot of fun to play on this course.”

After opening the season with a second-place finish at Turtle Bay, Wie tied for 57th in Phoenix and tied for 67th in the Kraft Nabisco.

“I know what I need to do out there tomorrow, so hopefully I can just go out and play my best,” Wie said. “I have been just plugging away, so I can only try my best. ... I need to be more consistent. The main thing is I just want to have fun out there.”

Choi also had a bogey-free round.

“I played almost perfectly today,” Choi said. “I just tried to think about a target on each hole, and just tried to hit it. I trust the yardage that I get from my caddie. When I am playing, I try not to think about the score. I just try to think about playing good golf.”

Eunjung Yi, Anna Nordqvist, Sandra Gal and Sarah Lee shot 67s, and Silvia Cavalleri, Kristy McPherson, Katherine Hull, Jill McGill and Mollie Fankhauser had 68s.

Second-ranked Yani Tseng and No. 5 Suzann Pettersen were four strokes back at 69, No. 6 Cristie Kerr had a 70, and No. 4 Paul Creamer shot a 72.

Brittany Lincicome, coming off a major victory in the Kraft Nabisco this month, was 10 strokes behind Ochoa after a 75. (AP)