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Ochoa takes one shot lead at Evian, Kung joint-second

Lorena Ochoa shot a 7-under par 65 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the million euro (US$3.25 million) Evian Masters.

Ochoa was a stroke ahead of three players: Taiwan’s Candie Kung, South Korea’s Ahn Sun-ju, and Angela Park.

The 26-year-old Mexican started with a birdie on the first hole and added six more on the back nine in a bogey-free round.

“I’m just glad I’m at the top,” Ochoa said. “I had a slow start. I made birdie on the first hole and didn’t give myself a lot of birdie chances. I had a break on 10 and 11. I got a really good confidence and started feeling good over the ball and the putting.’’

Park, a 19-year-old Brazil-born South Korean who gained US citizenship last month, began with eight pars before making birdies on six of the final 10 holes.

Ochoa has won six times this season on the US tour but arrived for Europe’s richest women’s tournament — worth 310,000 euros (US$487,500) to the winner — after a three-week break since finishing 31st in the US Women’s Open.

“I have my goal for the second part of the season,” Ochoa said. “I’m very motivated to continue playing good and I’m glad I got a good start.”

Laura Diaz teed off before 8am and took the clubhouse lead with a 5-under 67.

Like Ochoa, the 33-year-old American had taken a short break from golf before Evian and dominated the back nine, birdieing five of the last eight holes.

Unlike Ochoa, Diaz arrived in the French lakeside resort with an injury inflicted by her toddler son, Robert.

“My son injured my right rib the Saturday before last and I was forced to withdraw from the Jamie Farr Classic,” Diaz said.

“I took a whole week off and didn’t hit a ball until I got here. I didn’t even know if I was going to play,” she said.

It was the first time Diaz had shot under 70 in opening round in 17 tournaments this season. A four-time Solheim Cup player, she has two wins on the US LPGA Tour, both in 2002 when she climbed as high as seven in the women’s golf rankings.

Diaz was joined at 5-under by fellow Americans Juli Inkster and Angela Stanford, Meena Lee of South Korea and Norway’s Suzann Pettersen.

South Koreans Kim In-kyung and Kim Young were another shot back along with compatriot Amy Yang, while defending champion Natalie Gulbis — who played with Ochoa Thursday — led a group of seven at 3 under.
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