Sorenstam tied for lead at Ochoa Invitational

Nov 14, 2008 - 12:09 AM GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Ticker) - Annika Sorenstam overcame two late bogeys Thursday to pull into an eight-way tie for the lead after the first round at the inaugural Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

Looking for her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the season - and first since announcing she will step away from competitive golf at the end of the year - Sorenstam registered bogeys on the 14th and 16th holes, but recovered with a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to finish the day with a 4-under 68.

"It was a nice chip, and it's always great to finish with a birdie. I would say overall I played very well and hit a lot of good shots," Sorenstam said. "I felt good about this week, and today was a good round. I obviously need another three to go with it, and then we'll see what happens. But you know, once I step inside the ropes, I enjoy the competition."

Sorenstam got off to a nice start, carding three birdies on the first six holes before stumbling on the back nine.

"There's really not much to talk about other than I missed two short putts there from four or five feet," Sorenstam said. "I still hit the fairway on both holes, and around the greens, I just wasn't tidy around the greens."

Her last victory was the Michelob ULTRA Open in May, but since then her best finish was a third-place showing at June's LPGA Championship.

"I'm coming to an end, so you know, that's why I would like to finish on a strong note," Sorenstam said.

Of course, she's not alone at the head of the leaderboard. Yani Tseng, who earlier this year became the first player from Taiwan to win the LPGA Championship, also carded a 4-under on Thursday. She is joined at the top by a slew of players in search of their first victories of the season, including Brittany Lang, Nicole Castrale, British veteran Karen Stupples and South Korean Hee-Won Han.

"I was very happy with how I played today," Stupples said. "Hit some very good quality shots and, in fact, left quite a few out there. I felt like if I had made a few more putts, I could have gone very low today. But for the first round, I'll take it, and it was just a pleasure playing this fantastic golf course."

Angela Stanford - who won the Bell Micro LPGA Classic two months ago - is also tied at 4-under after an up-and-down day in which she carded seven birdies and three bogeys.

The eight co-leaders have a one-stroke lead over Sophie Gustafson, Jee Young Lee, Meena Lee and Na Yeon Choi.

It was a rough day for the tournament's namesake, Ochoa, who is pulling double duty this week as she is hosting the $1 million event and playing alongside 35 other players at the Guadalajara Country Club. Though she grew up playing on this course, she bogeyed the fourth and sixth holes and finished the day tied for 24th with a 1-over 73.

"My round today, I'm just going to try to learn from it and not be to hard on myself," Ochoa said. "(I) still have three more days. Tomorrow hopefully we get off to a good start and just keep going from there. I'm going to try to be aggressive and do a little bit of catch up."

In search of her eighth victory of the season, Ochoa has mathematically locked up the Rolex Player of the Year honors and is the star attraction in her native Guadalajara at the third and final Mexican event on the 2008 LPGA Tour schedule.

"I just have a lot of emotions, and it was hard to concentrate with the comments from the crowd and me trying to play good," Ochoa said. "But I think I was able to control the pressure fine, and hopefully (I'll) do better the next few days."

Ochoa is facing a field that includes 32 of the top 33 players on the 2008 LPGA Official Money List as well as five sponsor exemptions, two of whom - Juli Inkster and Laura Davies - have a combined 51 tour wins.

Paula Creamer, looking for her fifth win of the season, also struggled during Thursday's first round. She posted three bogeys on the back nine to card a 3-over 75, dropping to 35th place and just one stroke out of the basement.

The event is serving as the final tune-up for players competing in the 2008 ADT Championship. It is the 15th LPGA Tour event hosted by an LPGA Tour player.

First prize is $200,000.