Choi leads Ochoa, Kerr by one at U.S. Women's Open

By Larry Fine

BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Choi Na-yeon of South Korea fired a three-under-par 68 to take a one-shot lead over world number one Lorena Ochoa and 2007 winner Cristie Kerr after the first round of the U.S. Women's Open on Thursday.

Choi, who began her round on the 10th at Saucon Valley, birdied her first three holes, sticking two of the approach shots within two feet.

The 21-year-old Korean, who posted nine top-10 finishes in her rookie season last year, holed out from a bunker on her 11th hole and drained a 60-foot birdie putt at the next to reach five-under before dropping back with a pair of bogeys.

"This is the biggest tournament of our schedule on the LPGA," Choi said through an interpreter. "I started well today, but I'm not going to let it slide.

"I'm going to make sure that I play my best to the end."

Mexico's Ochoa, Kerr and unheralded fellow-American Jean Reynolds, 24, were tied for second at two-under 69 on a challenging 6,740-yard layout that featured fast, sloping greens and devilish pin placements.

Ochoa rolled in a zigzag, 50-foot birdie putt at her 11th hole, the 435-yard second, and dropped in a 15-foot downhill to grab a share of the early lead.

Kerr made a great up-and-down at the 13th to save par from greenside rough and birdied the 16th to reach two-under. Reynolds, who plays on the U.S. Futures Tour, got to three-under with a birdie at 14 before bogeying the next.

The only other player to better par was South Korea's Park Hee-young. The 22-year-old was three under before a double-bogey at the par-three 17th pulled her back to a one-under 70.

Choi had the lone sub-par round among afternoon starters.

"Every single pin today, with the exception of maybe one or two, is near a slope or on a slope," said Kerr. "Not unfairly, but you have to really pay attention to what's going on."

Ochoa, who has 26 LPGA Tour titles but only two majors, showed great touch on the greens.

"You know, this course is a lot about feel," she said. "Some of them you're going to need to die them in and just play high and soft. I like that, you have to have good imagination."

Ochoa said her 50-foot birdie was not the longest she had ever sunk but it might have been her most circuitous.

"It first went left and went right, it went up and then went left and went right," she said with a laugh. "It was like a good surprise, and made me smile."