Saiki takes opening round honours

Kim Saiki took a step toward ending a winless run of 13 years on the LPGA Tour with a bogey-free 66 that gave her a one-stroke lead Thursday after the opening round of the Wegmans Rochester LPGA.

Candie Kung was second after 18 holes on the par-72 Locust Hill course.

After benefiting from precise iron play and steady putting, the 38-year-old Saiki said she remains confident of her future on the tour.

"I know that I have the ability to win," said the Californian with four second-place finishes. "That's why I'm still out here."

Kung had more birdies -- seven to Saiki's six -- but also picked up bogeys when she three-putted from 3 feet on No. 4 and had to chip back onto the 14th fairway after a wayward drive on the tree-lined layout in suburban Rochester.

Julie Inkster was two shots back, one better than Rosie Jones, Se Ri Pak, Stephanie Louden, Becky Morgan and 17-year-old amateur Paula Creamer. She's coming off a tie for second Monday in the ShopRite Classic.

Annika Sorenstam, who last played here in 2000, had some difficulty off the tee and shot a 72. She chipped in for birdie from about 50 feet on the par-3 seventh but some of her putts just slipped past the hole.

"A few breaks here and there, things could have been different," Sorenstam said. "I hope to hit more fairways. I was too much in the rough and a lot of times I just had to chip out."

Defending champion Rachel Teske of Australia also carded a 72.

Swirling winds made it difficult to land on the narrow fairways and compact greens.

Saiki, playing with tendinitis in her left elbow, started on the back nine and bolted to an early lead with four birdies before the turn. She finished by sinking a 15-foot birdie putt.

"I didn't hit the ball extremely well off the tee, but my misses were straight," she said. "I hit a lot of really good irons" and "felt really comfortable on the greens."

In March, Saiki shot a career-low 8-under 64 in the opening round of the Safeway International at Superstition Mountain, Ariz., before tumbling out of contention.

She missed the cut in five tournaments this year, but Saiki's game has been improving over the last six weeks. Her best finish was a tie for 21st in last month's Sybase Classic in New Rochelle, N.Y.

"I just got focused, I made a few changes and just got into the rhythm," she said.

Saiki finished second twice in 1996 and once in both 1997 and 1998. She's 82nd on the career money list with $1.34 million. She had three top-10s and earned $222,804 in 2003, her most lucrative season.

"I can't say I'm disappointed in the way my career has gone," she said. "I consider myself very successful to be able to survive this long and I've had a lot of good finishes."

The $1.5 million tournament is sponsored by the grocery store chain Wegmans

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