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Gulbis leads Corona Morelia by two strokes
Natalie Gulbis shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead in the Corona Morelia Championship, while Lorena Ochoa struggled to a 71 in her second LPGA Tour event in her homeland.
Sweden's Carin Koch was two strokes back at 68 along with Audra Burks. Burks had an eagle, three birdies and a bogey.
Nancy Scranton offset three bogeys with six birdies and was tied for fourth place with Sweden's Maria Hjorth and Italy's Giulia Sergas at 69 on the Tres Marias Residential Golf Club course.
"I'm very fortunate that I have good distance off the tee and that definitely helped on a golf course like this one," said Gulbis, whose six birdies came on putts of less than 10 feet. "I had a lot of wedges today ... and you can fire at pins when you have short wedges in your hand."
Gulbis, looking for her first victory in her fourth LPGA season, said she's been in the lead on tour "six to 10 times."
"It's not a lot of pressure, but there are very good players on tour," she said.
Burks made eagle at the 355-yard, par-4 17th, her eighth hole, sinking a 129-yard wedge shot.
Ochoa was the story heading into the event. She won twice last year to become the LPGA Tour's first Mexican champion and is trying for the second time to win in her homeland.
The 23-year-old native of Guadalajara, just 175 miles from colonial Morelia, is tied for 28th and is very familiar with the layout.
"The first round is the hardest one, so I'm over with that," Ochoa said. "I know where I am right now and I think I'm going to feel more relaxed tomorrow. The good thing is I know the course, I know the leaders, how they play."
Ochoa started on the back nine and bogeyed Nos. 11 and 13. She made birdie at Nos. 14 and 18 and added another at the second. At the par-3 third, she hit an 8-iron into the water, and settled for a double bogey.
"I hit the ball pretty good," she said. "Just a couple of bad shots and it cost me a lot of strokes."
Ochoa's opening round mirrored a disappointing start in the LPGA's first visit to Mexico earlier this year. At that event, she appeared nervous and opened with a 1-under 71, five strokes behind eventual winner Annika Sorenstam, who is not competing this week.
Ochoa insisted nerves weren't a problem, despite hundreds of cheering fans, including dozens who followed her every hole, trudging up steep hills despite stifling temperatures in the high 80s and blazing sunshine.
Crowd noise and a large press following slowed Ochoa's round, which lasted more than five hours. The raucous atmosphere drew complaints from other players.
The crowds are expected to get larger this weekend, and 100 friends and family members were expected to arrive in Morelia to cheer on Ochoa.
Ochoa has overcome listless opening rounds before. At the Takefuji Classic in Las Vegas last week, Ochoa used a career-best 63 to charge into contention and eventually finished second to Wendy Ward. "What happened last week, it helped me a lot," Ochoa said. Ward, playing the week after a victory for the first time, opened with a 71. Jennifer Rosales of the Philippines, withdrew after seven holes because of an injury to her right wrist. Rosales said she hurt the same wrist last year, causing her to withdraw from some tournaments. She also withdrew from the MasterCard Classic last month after stepping in a hole and twisting her ankle.
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