Bunch leads with first day 64

Annika Sorenstam is an obvious success story in the Welch's/Circle K Championship after winning two straight titles. So is Ashli Bunch.

Bunch, winless in four seasons on the LPGA Tour, shot a career-best 8-under-par 64 Thursday to grab the first-round lead.

``I probably had a fairly hot putter,'' she said. ``To be quite honest, I didn't hit the ball extremely well. But I was able to take advantage of the par-5s -- I think I birdied all the par-5s. I just made a lot of good putts, a lot of 7- to 8-footers, and I kept the ball in play.''

Bunch was nearly done when the wind kicked up, causing problems for Sorenstam and the other late starters.

Sorenstam, the only back-to-back winner in the event's 21-year history, was eight shots behind after a 72 -- the Swedish star's second straight round of mediocre scoring. On Sunday, Sorenstam shot a 76 while blowing a four-shot lead that led to a playoff loss to Rachel Teske in Phoenix.

But on the back nine the only woman to shoot 59 in a tournament round showed signs of regaining the mastery she displayed by beating Karrie Webb in the Australian Masters and Lorie Kane in Hawaii to open the LPGA season.

After nothing but three bogeys to show for the first 15 holes, Sorenstam birdied No. 16 and eagled No. 18 to go 3 under on the last two par-5s on the Randolph Park North layout.

Pat Hurst, Mi Hyun Kim, Dorothy Delasin and Nancy Scranton all fired 65s, with 1999 winner Juli Inkster, Mhairi McKay and Karen Weiss at 66. Laura Diaz, Janice Moodie, Suzanne Strudwick and Sherri Turner carded 67s.

Webb, the game's dominant woman until Sorenstam's eight-victory season last year, was tied with seven others four shots behind, and Teske topped a group of 11 at 69.

Bunch's best previous score on tour was the 66 she shot in the final round at Tucson in 1999, which helped her finish in a career-best tie for fourth.

Her short game was precise from the first hole of a back-nine start on the 6,222-yard municipal course. Bunch chipped in from the top of the green for the first of her five birdies, and reached 7 under when she sank a 20-foot eagle putt on the ninth hole.

``I was trying not to let anything go through my mind,'' Bunch said. ``I was trying to keep myself in the present. I was like, 'OK, I've played those nine holes. Now let's start over.' I was just trying to keep my focus.''

She added two more birdies in the first five holes after the turn before giving back a shot on the shortest hole of the course -- the 140-yard sixth, where she left an 8-iron short of the green, chipped up and two-putted from 6 feet.

Delasin, starting on No. 1, had a quick eagle when she holed out from 91 yards on the first fairway.

``I got off to a really good start,'' Delasin said. ``To tell you the truth, the round didn't seem that spectacular. I mean, I only birdied one of the par-4s. But it was a good day.''

Scranton tied a tournament record with a 29 on the par-35 front nine -- the lowest nine-hole score on the tour this year -- and became the second player to go 9 under when she made three birdies in five holes on the back.

But she bogeyed the 15th and 18th holes by three-putting after reaching the greens in regulation.

``It's a big improvement from last week,'' said Scranton, who missed the cut in Phoenix, where weather was a factor all four days. ``I got away with a couple today, but I also hit a lot of good shots.''

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