Ochoa in contention for 2nd straight LPGA major

First came her best shot of the day, even if it was only from 70 yards. Then, as Lorena Ochoa walked across the putting green to the next tee, she noticed a poster hanging from the back of the grandstand behind the first tee that had been signed by Mexican workers at the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage, Calif.

"Mission Hills Golf Course Staff Supports Lorena."

That was all the inspiration Ochoa needed Thursday to get right into the mix at the first LPGA major of the year.

Ochoa ran off 4 straight birdies around the turn, 3 of them from inside 6 feet as she finally cashed in on her power, and settled for a solid start of 4-under 68 to finish 1 shot behind Karen Stupples.

"Just be patient and wait for the right time," Ochoa said.

Stupples was first out in a gentle breeze and played bogey-free for a 67, getting back into the swing of major golf nearly a year after she gave birth to her first child. But it wasn't long before she had company.

Ochoa, trying to become the first woman since Annika Sorenstam in 2005 to win consecutive majors, found the perfect distance with a sand wedge from 70 yards and a breeze at her back, spinning the ball back to 2 feet on the 18th hole for a birdie. She birdied the first three holes on the front nine to tie for the lead, and only a three-putt bogey from the fringe and over severe humps on the par-3 eighth kept her from a share of the lead.

"I will take that, for sure, three more days," Ochoa said.

Ai Miyazato hit a wedge into tap-in range for birdie on her final hole to join Ochoa at 68, while Natalie Gulbis and Heather Young were another shot behind. UCLA freshman Maria Jose Uribe was the low amateur and in a group at 70 that included Liselotte Neumann.

Sorenstam tried to stay with the leaders but missed too many putts inside 10 feet and settled for a 71. It was her 15th consecutive round under par this year, but she wound up trailing Ochoa, the game's most dynamic player.

"It's a long way to go," Sorenstam said. "You just have to go out and battle it day by day, stroke by stroke, and take it as it comes."

Ochoa played with defending champion Morgan Pressel, who scrambled for a 71, but was constantly 40 yards behind.

"I'd like to be a little longer," Pressel said. "It's tough to compete when you're hitting 3-wood into the greens."

Shell Houston Open: Defending champion Adam Scott overcame a fever and swollen glands around his throat, shooting a course-record 9-under 63 in calm early conditions for a share of the Shell Houston Open lead at Humble, Texas.

Johnson Wagner matched Scott's 63 late in the day. Wagner also shared the first-round lead last year and shared the previous Tournament Course at Redstone record (64) with Bubba Watson.

Charley Hoffman was 2 behind the leaders after a 65, and Steve Stricker was 3 back. Phil Mickelson, one of several top players using Houston as a tuneup for next week's Masters, shot a 72 in the afternoon, when blustery wind produced higher scores.

Estoril Open of Portugal: Defending champion Pablo Martin and France's Gregory Bourdy shot course-record 8-under 63s in the first round of the Estoril Open of Portugal at Cascais.

The 21-year-old Martin, from Spain, capped his bogey-free round at Oitavos Dunes with a 7-iron from 183 yards to inches for a birdie on the 18th. Last year, the former Oklahoma State star became the first amateur winner in European tour history.