Suzann Pettersen of Norway birdied the final two holes for a 4-under 68 to take the first-round lead on Thursday in the inaugural and windswept Kapalua LPGA Classic.
Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, seeking her eighth victory of the season, opened with a 74. She was paired with No. 2 Annika Sorenstam of Sweden, who struggled to a 77.
Tracy Hanson aced the 165-yard 12th hole to match Brittany Lang at 69.
Taiwan’s Candie Kung and Yani Tseng went round in 72 along with five other players.
After a relatively calm morning, Maui’s trademark tradewinds picked up and kept the players from attacking the course.
Only 19 of the 132 players in the field were able to break par, with only five players from the afternoon groups shooting below par.
Pettersen is seeking her first LPGA Tour victory of the year after a breakout season last year when she won five times, including the LPGA Championship.
This year, the Norwegian is ranked No. 5 in the world and has seven top-10 finishes in 19 starts.
Hanson opened with 11 straight pars and aced the 165-yard 12th to reach 2 under. She birdied three holes later to finish a stroke behind Pettersen.
Hanson is trying to finish strong after a difficult season. She has missed the cut in eight of 17 events with a 38th-place tie in the Sybase Classic as her best finish.
Ochoa and Sorenstam were among the afternoon starters who took the brunt of the winds. Ochoa was steady most of the day but got into trouble in the rough and bogeyed Nos. 15 and 16.
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