Pressel up by One at ANA Inspiration; Ko Ties Sorenstam Record


Morgan Pressel opened with a 5-under 67 to take the 18-hole lead in the ANA Inspiration. The first major in the LPGA Tour's calendar started Thursday on the Dinah Shore course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Pressel, a 26-year-old from Florida in search of her third career victory and first since the 2008 Kalalua LPGA Classic, carded five birdies for a one-stroke lead over Japan's Ai Miyazato and two over South Korean So-Yeon Ryu, France's Gwladys Nocera, and Americans Alison Walshe and Juli Inkster.

The $2.5 million ANA Inspiration is the new name of the LPGA Tour's first major of the year. The former Kraft Nabisco Championship was renamed after the American food giant ended its sponsorship in 2014 and All Nippon Airways of Japan stepped in as the new sponsor through, at least, 2019. Other than the new name, the event maintains tradition by using the same venue since its 1972 inception and the champion will still jump into Poppie's Pond beside the 18th green after Sunday's final round.

Pressel's first victory came in the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship, while Inkster - a World Golf Hall of Fame member - won it in 1984 and 1989.

Pressel was pleased with her control in the opening round. "I kept the ball in play most of the day. I was never really in terrible position," she said. "I hit one kind of really poor shot, I guess on 5 tee, but recovered nicely with a long bunker shot to a couple feet and saved par there.

"So that was just kind of a little early miscue, but the rest of the day I just was very steady. There are a lot of tight tee shots out here, and I was able to hit it where I wanted to, so I'm just happy with the way I played today."

The 54-year-old Inkster has eight major titles among her 31 LPGA victories. The California native noted she came into the tournament swinging well; she just needed to make some putts. "I actually have been hitting the ball fairly well the last couple of weeks, and I've been out with a balky putter, but today I made a few putts and I made great par on 16. One you don't really expect to make."

In addition to Pressel and Inkster, the big story on Thursday was Lydia Ko posting a 71 and tying Annika Sorenstam's all-time record of 29 straight under-par rounds. After a wayward tee shot on the seventh hole, Ko made a great escape by hitting a low hook to 25 and two-putted for par to avert disaster and maintain her chances of matching Sorenstam's mark.

On the day Ko had five birdies and four bogeys. The top-ranked player in women's golf said her recovery on No. 7 was among her best ever. "That was probably one of the most difficult ones because I had to hit it low enough and had to hit a slinging hook, so I didn't end up in the bunker so ended up being pretty good, and I just missed my birdie," noted the 17-year-old New Zealander. "But I said, no, to see where I was with my drive for par was pretty good, yeah."

Ko said her thoughts weren't on tying the great Swede's record, though after the round she thought it was "pretty cool."

"I was really busy trying to make some birdies and recover from some of my bad shots," she said. "So I really wasn't thinking about it, but ended up finishing under par. It's not easy out here. There are some really tough pin positions, so overall I'm happy with where I am for this tournament. It's just pretty cool to tie Annika's record."

Defending champion Lexi Thompson, who was paired with Ko, shot a 72. No. 3 Stacy Lewis also had a 72 and No. 2 Inbee Park a 74.

For updated scoring, visit http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/ana-inspiration/leaderboard.