Karen Stupples in eight-way tie

for lead in Ochoa Invitational

England's Karen Stupples, 35, the 2004 Women's British Open champion - and winless since then, maintained her good run of late-season form with a four-under-par 68 to share the lead with SEVEN other players, including Annika Sorenstam, at the end of the first round of the Lorena Ochoa Invitational over the par-72, 6,644-yard Guadalajara Country Club, Mexico.
Stupples was fast out of the traps, birdieing the first three holes and holing a 60-degree wedge from 70 yards for an eagle 2 at the 14th (364yd).
She played with a broken middle toe on her right foot.“I had the accident yesterday morning,” Stupples said. “I was in a panic to get to the coffee, so I rushed around the corner and I stubbed my toe against the wall, and I have a fracture, a broken toe. But it’s the middle one, and so it’s supported by the other two toes. It hurts a little bit, but nothing that I can’t play with.”
Scots Catriona Matthew and Janice Moodie are not in this restricted field of 36 players.

LEADING SCORES

Par 72. 6644yd
68 Karen Stupples, Nicole Castrale, Hee-Won Han, Brittany Lang, Seon Hwa Lee, Yani Tseng,
Angela Stanford, Annika Sorenstam.
69 Sophie Gustafson, Jee Young Lee, Meena Lee, Na Yeon Choi.
70 Ji Young Oh, Christina Kim, Sun Young Yoo, In-Kyung Kim, Laura Diaz, Helen Alfredsson.
71 Eun-Hee Ji, Katherine Hull, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr.
72 Teresa Lu.
73 Angela Park, Song-Hee Kim, Jeon Jang, Lorena Ochoa.
74 Candie Kung, Inbee Park, Marisa Baena, Maria Hjorth, Jane Park.
75 Laura Davies, Suzann Pettersen, Paul Creamer.
76 Sophia Sheridan