Ochoa leads with first-round 64 at Kingsmill

SLIDESHOW: LPGA

WILLIAMSBURG -- Lorena Ochoa, the world's No. 1-ranked female golfer, says she detests cold weather. Given the heat Ochoa brought to the Kingsmill Resort yesterday, cold didn't stand a chance.

Ochoa took possession of the firstround lead at the $2.2 million Michelob Ultra Open with a sizzling round of 64 on a day of fickle weather along the lower James River. The eight-birdie, one-bogey effort, her best in 25 tries on Kingsmill's long, lush River Course, gave Ochoa a one-shot lead over Lindsey Wright and a two-shot advantage over Hee-Won Han, Sarah Lee and Minea Blomqvist.

"When I stepped outside this morning and felt the wind and saw the clouds, I thought, 'Uh-oh. It's going to be a long day,'" Ochoa said. "I thought there would be [weather-related] delays, for sure."

She said she was "very pleased that it never got cold. I don't like cold. I don't mind rain, but I don't like cold. When I walked outside and saw that it was still nice and warm, I said, 'It's going to be OK. I can do this.'"

She did. Ochoa played her first 13 holes in 6 under par. She bogeyed the par-4 16th, in the process falling one stroke behind Wright. She restored order by stacking a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 18 atop an eight-footer for birdie at 17.

All of which suggests that Ochoa is intent upon correcting one of the few blemishes on her splendid résumé. The reigning LPGA player of the year owns 26 career victories but is 0-6 at Kingsmill. She finished as the runner-up here in 2003, 2004 and 2006. Ochoa declined to look 72 hours into the future.

"I don't need to put pressure on myself," she said. "I'm going to do my best, but this is only the start. We still have three more days." Her goal at the moment, she said, is to "give myself a chance on Sunday."

Wright, a five-year veteran who is stalking her first LPGA victory, played bogey-free golf, largely because she enjoyed significant success on the River Course's saturated greens. She made 20-foot birdie putts at 16 and 18 and holed a 15-footer for birdie at No. 15.

She did so despite feeling ill for much of her round. "I don't know what it is," she said. "I'm just not feeling well." She said she traveled to Williamsburg from Dallas, "where it was really hot." Then she answered the obvious question. "No," she said, "I don't have Swine Flu."

Nor was that the only obstacle she had to overcome. Wright, a 29-year-old Australian, went about her business with a new caddie, Paul Clifford, on her bag.

"I just kind of went out there and got the [yardage] number" from Clifford "and tried to hit the number," she said.

Wright, playing for the first time since the Kraft-Nabisco in early April, said she worked a lot on putting -- specifically, on alignment while addressing putts -- during her long layoff.

"I haven't been making a lot of putts," she said. "[Today] I made some great ones." Among them was a tricky four-footer to save par on her final hole, the par-4 ninth. Said Wright: "I almost hate to say it, but I will say it because you don't get to say it very often: I had an easy 6 under."

Blomqvist, even through 10 holes, played her final eight in 5 under. Han played her final eight in 4 under. Lee reached 5 under by making birdie at the par-5 15th but could go no lower. She finished with three consecutive pars.