Jones, Stupples & Kim top leaderboard

Rosie Jones proved she could still mix it with the best by tying for the lead with Britain's Karen Stupples and South Korean Kim Mi-Hyun after the first round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Thursday.

American Jones, 45, hit three birdies in a faultless three-under-par 69 as the first women's major of the season got underway at Rancho Mirage.

One stroke behind the leaders were Sweden's Annika Sorenstam and Carin Koch, Juli Inkster of the U.S. and two American amateurs, 15-year-old Michelle Wie and 16-year-old Morgan Pressel.

Jones made a birdie from tap-in range at the long 18th and then confirmed that this would be her last full season as a player.

"I've been out here 23 years and my body hurts," the 13-times LPGA Tour winner told reporters. "I had surgery and a lot of neck problems last year and it's just getting too hard to keep healthy.

"I'm an all or nothing kind of player and sometimes I wake up and really don't want to play golf.

"But I want to play in another Solheim Cup (her seventh) at the end of this year and that is keeping me motivated...I'm definitely going to retire after that."

World number one Sorenstam is the title favourite, especially having won on her last four outings on the LPGA Tour.

The Swede would have made it a four-way tie for the lead but for a bogey at the short 17th.

"The wind came up late in the day and it was swirling and very chilly which made it tough," said Sorenstam.

"It's still a decent start. I didn't really hole any putts so there's plenty of chances to go lower tomorrow."

Wie, who birdied three of the first 10 holes, has finished in the top 10 here for the past two years and her goal this week is to better her fourth place from 12 months ago.

Stupples lifted her first LPGA trophy in Tucson at the start of last year before winning the British Open at Sunningdale.

The 31-year-old Briton said: "I love the challenge of the majors and I think my game suits the tougher courses. They also help me concentrate."

Kim, the 1999 LPGA Rookie of the Year, has won five times but none since 2002.

Champion Grace Park of South Korea, who came close to pulling out with a back injury, struggled to a one-over 73.

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