SINGAPORE -- Angela Stanford made a couple of late birdies to complete a six-under 66 on Thursday and take the lead after one round of the HSBC Women's Champions.
Stanford holds a two-stroke lead over five players, including Na Yeon Choi, the second-ranked player in the world. I.K. Kim, So Yeon Ryu, Amy Yang and Momoko Ueda also shot four-under 68s on the Garden Course at the Tanah Merah Country Club.
Thursday's performance was a welcome change for Stanford, who started slowly in her first two events of the season. She posted a two-over 75 at the Women's Australian Open two weeks ago and finished in a tie for 31st, then carded a four-over 76 in the first round in Thailand last weekend.
She battled back to finish in a tie for 18th in that tournament, but won't have to come from behind heading into Friday's second round. Stanford is in front thanks to a bogey-free round that featured six birdies, including four in her final nine holes.
"I felt pretty good coming into the year, and Australia, Royal Melbourne, is such a different golf course than I think anybody expected. It's more of a British Open-style course. So that was kind of difficult right off the bat," Stanford said. "And then last week my final three rounds were under par. I felt pretty good coming into this week."
She has had some success at this tournament. In 2010, Stanford held a share of the first-round lead and went on to tie for ninth. The year before, she tied for third.
Stanford began her round Thursday at the 10th tee and birdied her first hole, and didn't sink another until the 16th. However, she started to climb up the leaderboard after making the turn, with back-to-back birdies at one and two -- both par-fours.
Stanford remained at four-under until a birdie at seven, then closed her round with another to head into the clubhouse with the lead. She birdied the par- five ninth despite topping her second shot.
"The second shot was not a desirable outcome," Stanford said.
Choi was still out on the course at that point, though, and could have threatened Stanford's hold on first. Choi poured in five birdies in her first 10 holes -- including three in a row from the eighth -- and sat at five-under with eight holes left to play.
However, she didn't make another birdie, and stumbled to a bogey at the 16th to fall two shots behind Stanford.
Choi explained that her drive at the par-four 16th left her in a poor position for her second shot. She said she tried a flop shot, but the ball was short and went into a bunker.
"I kind of missed the shot, but I don't have regret. I didn't have any choice for that situation," Choi said. "I had a bogey but still I think I had a good round."
Ueda pulled herself back into contention after a rough opening hole. She was in one of the first threesomes to hit the course, starting from the 10th tee, and immediately carded a double-bogey.
But Ueda got one shot back with a birdie at the 12th, then twice ran off three birdies in a row -- at 15, 16 and 17, and again at holes two, three and four. A bogey at the seventh dropped Ueda to minus-four, where she was in a tie for second at the end of Thursday's round.
While the field at this event consists of only 63 players, it features nine of the top 10 players in the world -- including top-ranked Yani Tseng, who opened with a 71.
Fourth-ranked Cristie Kerr and ninth-ranked Ai Miyazato posted three-under 69s and are in a tie for seventh with Jenny Shin, Kristy McPherson, Katie Futcher, Vicky Hurst and Shanshan Feng.
NOTES: Stanford hasn't won since earning the title at the 2009 SBS Open at Turtle Bay...Defending champion Karrie Webb carded an even-par 72, and is tied for 29th place...World No. 3 Suzann Pettersen recorded a one-over 73, while No. 5 Paula Creamer shot a one-under 71. No. 7 Jiyai Shin (70), No. 8 Stacy Lewis (71) and No. 10 Brittany Lincicome (71) are also in the field...Amateur Sock Hwee Koh posted a 10-over 82.
