 |
 |
 |
|
"I haven't shot this low all year, so it feels good to get off to a good start here, a place that I really like a lot and haven't played so well," she said. "Very solid, lots of fairways, lots of greens. Just good golf."
Sorenstam played with Ochoa and defending champion Suzann Pettersen (71) and was 4 under through eight holes, the kind of start that she hopes will lead to big things.
"I think my game fits this course," she said of the 6,315-yard layout, where her best finish is sixth. "Why I haven't played well here in the past, I'm not really sure."
Ochoa, a three-time runner-up here, had an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys in her first event since her winning streak was halted at four last weekend. She moved into a tie for third with D'Alessio with three consecutive birdies on the back nine.
The soft greens made scoring necessary - "You got to take advantage of that," she said - and playing with Sorenstam only highlighted the need to attack flags.
"It keeps you motivated to play good and make birdies," Ochoa said.
McKay avoided trouble all day in a bogey-free 63, and turned her only errant tee shot of the day into a birdie. It came at the par-4 14th, where her drive came to rest under a tree, but she hit a punch 6-iron that skidded onto the green, 20 feet from the cup.
She made that putt, and several others, thanks to a tip from her brother, who caddied for her last weekend at the Scottish Open and thought she was standing up too soon on putts.
"Definitely helped me," she said.
Yoo played in the afternoon and closed with four consecutive birdies.
"I didn't realize I could be like this," she said, "so I really feel good."
D'Alessio had the shot of the day - a 7-iron from 134 yards on the par-4 16th that landed about 5 feet short of the hole, hopped and rolled in.
"My caddie yelled, 'Go in' and it did," she said. "She needs to do that more often."
Besides the eagle, D'Alessio had five birdies and two bogeys.
While she was celebrating the shot, Wie was walking toward the green, where she followed a pulled drive with a shot that went far right into greenside rough. From there, she chipped across the green onto the fringe, pounding her wedge in frustration, and then two-putted.
