GOLF ROUNDUP Thursday's events

LPGA
Kraft Nabisco Championship
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- Lorena Ochoa took her first step toward overtaking Annika Sorenstam at No. 1 in the world. Even though her putting wasn't up to her standards, Ochoa hit it close enough at the Kraft Nabisco Championship to make five birdies and open with a 3-under 69 in tough conditions, leaving her one shot behind Shi Hyun Ahn in the first major of the year. "I feel good. I'm ready to go," said Ochoa. The 25-year-old Mexican star needs a victory this week to become No. 1. Unlike a year ago, when Ochoa tied an LPGA major record with a 62 at Mission Hills, the greens were too firm and the rough too thick to allow for that kind of scoring. And as hard as she tried, defending Karrie Webb couldn't repeat her 18th hole magic. Webb holed a pitching wedge from 116 yards for eagle on the final hole of the fourth round last year to make up a seven-shot deficit, eventually beating Ochoa in a playoff. She was only 82 yards away, hit a full sand wedge that rode the slope and flirted with going into the hole. It stopped a few inches away. Webb feigned disgust, slamming her sand wedge to the turf with a smile on her face. The tap-in birdie gave her a 70, putting her in a group that included Maria Hjorth and Catriona Matthew. Sorenstam, meanwhile, struggled. Even after finishing with a birdie, she jammed her putter into the bag with disgust, then stood behind the ninth green with hands on her hips after her worst start at a major in seven years. She opened with a 3-over 75, a score that could have been higher if not for a few par saves. Ahn took the lead on a sun-soaked day in the desert, overcoming some jitters about being in a major and staying true to her plan of not taking her golf so seriously. She made six birdies in her round of 68. Sorenstam said, "I felt good. I felt ready. And then I got off to a really terrible start." She chunked her second shot. Her chip was about 20 feet long and above the hole. And she three-putted for double bogey. That was the start of Sorenstam missing five consecutive greens, and she did well to save par with a 20-foot putt on the 15th and a chip from across the green on the 16th to about 3 feet. "It wasn't anything in particular," Sorenstam said. "But I'm not going to let this round ruin the rest of the week."
PGA
Houston Open
HUMBLE, Texas -- Stuart Appleby was back on top at the Houston Open with the same first-round score that propelled him to a six-shot victory last year. The Australian shot a 6-under 66 for a share of the lead with Kevin Sutherland and rookie Johnson Wagner. Like Appleby, they teed off in the morning, before gusty wind kicked up and made the 7,457-yard Tournament Course at Redstone more challenging. Texans Justin Leonard, Jeff Maggert and Bob Estes were in a group of six players one shot back after 67s. Estes had the lowest round of the afternoon starters. Appleby hasn't won since Houston last year and has only one top-30 finish in seven starts in 2007. He birdied three of his first four holes in the early morning, when conditions were calm and the course was most vulnerable. Appleby added three birdies on his back nine, but said the round was rougher than his score revealed. He missed seven of 14 fairways, finding a bunker with his tee shot on the par-5 fourth hole that led to a bogey.
Associated Press
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