MICHELLE WIE LEADS HSBC TOURNEY AFTER ROUND 1 IN HSBC WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

Michelle Wie of the United States hits her tee-shot on the third hole during the first round of the HSBC Women's Champions on the Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club on March 2, 2017 in Singapore.  --- Photo Credit: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Michelle Wie made eight birdies Thursday to get off to a fast start at the HSBC Women’s Champions, and her 6-under-par total has her leading after the first round in Singapore.
“It was just a steady round. I had fun out there,” said Wie. “I had a lot of fun. I just had fun playing.”

Wie, who has not won on the LPGA Tour since 2014 when she captured both the LPGA Lotte Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open, made three birdies in a row on the front nine, and then pulled the trick again on the back nine. Her birdie barrage was offset by only two blemishes on the scorecard, on the par-4 3rd and the par-3 15th.
Wie repeated how much fun she had Thursday multiple times when asked after her round what the key to her success was. She admitted it was good to finally play a round pain-free, as she’s battled a myriad of injuries the last few seasons.
“It feels good to play without much pain. To go out there and just play some golf and focus on my game rather than trying to finish out rounds,” she explained. “I’m very proud of myself today.”
It has been a few years since Wie was let alone leading a golf tournament, and she stated it was exciting to be at the top of the leaderboard after Thursday’s opening round.
“Even though it’s just the first day, I want to keep building and hopefully the next three days I can take it day-by-day, hole-by-hole, shot-by-shot and play as hard as I can,” she said.
Brooke Henderson, who birdied her final two holes of the day, sits in a tie for second at 5-under-par. Henderson has had a fairly pedestrian start to her 2017 campaign – with two T21s and a T45 – versus her blistering start to 2016. But after making six birdies on Thursday she’s in a prime position for her first strong finish of the season.

“I felt like I finally got it going, and two birdies to finish off 17 and 18 really help out a round,” explained Henderson. "I feel a lot more calm and relaxed and I felt like good things were going to happen today and I'm happy with a 5-under round."

World No.2 Ariya Jutanugarn nailed a long birdie try on the par-4 18th to sneak into the group tied for second at 5-under. She made three bogeys Thursday, but offset those mistakes with eight birdies.

"I hit a lot of good shots today, especially on the front nine, but I just missed some putts,” said Jutanugarn. “On the back nine I just started to make some putts, and that's the key."

Inbee Park, who is playing her second event of 2017 after returning from a long layoff due to injury, is tied with Henderson, Jutanugarn, American Mo Martin and Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist at 5-under.

Mi Jung Har, Ryann O’Toole (who played with Wie), Stacy Lewis, and Paula Creamer, who won this event in 2014 (her last LPGA Tour victory) sit at 4-under-par and are two shots back heading into Friday’s second round.

World No.1 Lydia Ko drained a 20-foot birdie putt on her final hole of the day to get to -3 and sits tied for 12th.

The New Tanjong Course at the Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore yielded 37 under-par rounds on Thursday under intermittent rain, the first round played on the new course. The Serapong Golf Course, across the street from the New Tanjong, hosted the event in the past.

LEADERBOARD -- Par 72

66 Michelle Wie (USA).
67 Mo Martin (USA), Anna Nordvist (Swe), Brooke M Henderson (Can), Ariya Jutanugarn (Thai), Inbee Park (SKor).
68 Paula Creamer (USA), Mi Jung Hur (SKor), Ryan O'Toole (USA)m, Stacy Lewis (USA), Sung Hyun Park (SKor).

SELECTED SCORES
69 Charley Hull (Eng) (T12)
71 Jodi Ewart Shadoff (Eng) (T31)
73 Catriona Matthew (Sco) (T42).

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES CLICK HERE