Pain-free Wie sets early Champions pace

SINGAPORE: Michel le Wie revelled in being injury-free for the first time in years as she carded a superb 66 to lead after the first-round of the HSBC Women’s Champions Thursday.

The 27-year- old American shot a brilliant six-under-par round at Singapore’s brand new Tanjong course after needing a sponsor’s invite to play in the elite event featuring 19 of the world’s top 20.

Her round, played in wind and rain, featured eight birdies and a series of long putts, reminiscent of when she won the US Open in 2014 before injuries and a loss of form saw her tumble to 179th in the world.

“It feels good to play without much pain,” she said.

“To go out there and just play some golf and focus on my game rather than trying to finish out rounds. I’m very proud of myself today.”

Wie finished the day one shot clear of a group of five players, including the Rio Olympic champion Park In-Bee.

The South Korean signed for a 67 to join Canada’s Brooke Henderson, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, American Mo Martin and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand in a tie for second on a heavily congested leaderboard.

Park, playing just her second tournament since a six- month layoff, made five birdies in a bogeyfree round but said she was still a long way off her best.

“I still feel like I’m a little bit rusty. Hopefully that rust goes away as quick as possible,” she said.

“One round doesn’t real ly matter. I have to do this for the rest of the three days, and that’s what it really takes to win a golf championship.” — AFP