Wie opens with a 66, Henderson one back
SINGAPORE — Michelle Wie rolled in several clutch putts on Thursday and had six birdies in a 10-hole stretch to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the HSBC Women’s Champions golf tournament.
The 27-year-old Wie, who has struggled with injuries and form since winning the U.S. Open in 2014, shot a 6-under 66 at the new Tanjong course. “It’s a marathon this week, it’s not a sprint,” said Wie. “But I have to say I’m very proud of where I’ve positioned myself today.”
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls was in a five-way tie for second place. Henderson, Inbee Park, Mo Martin, Anna Nordqvist and Ariya Jutanugarn each shot a 5-under 67.
Among other scores in the 63-player field, Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer had 68s, top-ranked Lydia Ko shot 69, Shanshan Feng and Lexi Thompson 70, Karrie Webb 75 and Cristie Kerr 77. Alena Sharp of Hamilton opened with a 3-over 75.
“I still feel like I’m a little bit rusty, but hopefully that rust goes away as quickly as possible,” said Park, who is playing just her second tournament after taking a six-month break. “One round doesn’t really matter. I have to do this for the rest of the three days.”
Park spent much of the early part of last year sidelined with a left thumb injury, and the break helped give it time to heal.
Wie, who had eight birdies and a pair of bogeys on Thursday, has managed just one top-10 finish since 2014 and only got into the $1.5-million LPGA tournament on a sponsor’s invitation after her ranking slumped to No. 179. But she was in vintage touch Thursday. After making a bogey-5 at the third, Wie’s putter suddenly got hot as she made three birdies in a row to go out in 34.
She made another three birdies at the start of the back nine, draining a 12-foot putt on the 11th and then sinking another long putt from below the hole on the 501yard, par-5 13th to take the early lead at a tournament featuring nine of the world’s top 10 players.
Wie slipped a shot behind Nordqvist when she bogeyed the 15th after an errant tee shot and the Swede picked up her sixth birdie, but Wie regained the lead with back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17.