BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Na Yeon Choi of South Korea birdied her first three holes, and four of her first five, on the way to a 3-under 68 and a one-stroke lead after the first round of the U.S. Women's Open.
Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, 2007 champion Cristie Kerr and
qualifier Jean Reynolds opened with 2-under 69s Thursday.
Hee Young Park, also of South Korea, was another stroke back
after a 70.
Birdies were hard to come by for nearly everyone but the
21-year-old Choi, a four-time international winner. Only five
players were below par on the undulating greens and narrow fairways
of Saucon Valley Country Club.
Ochoa's round included a birdie putt of more than 50 feet on the
second hole, her 11th. Kerr hit 15 greens and 10 fairways in a
round of three birdies and a bogey.