Becky Morgan opens three shot lead

Becky Morgan doesn't like the rain. That's not to say it doesn't suit her golf game, especially on a traditional, tree-lined course with compact greens.

``You could just fire it straight at the pins and it stuck, so that was nice,'' Morgan said Thursday after shooting an 8-under-par 64 in the soggy opening round of the Rochester LPGA to carve out a three-stroke lead.

While the cool, rainy conditions reminded her of home in Monmouth, Wales, ``I still don't like it,'' she said with a laugh. ``It's a bit of a bog out there.''

Lorena Ochoa of Mexico was second after closing with three straight birdies for a 67, one ahead of Maria Hjorth (68) and two in front of 2003 U.S. Women's Open champion Hilary Lunke (69). Se Ri Pak, Christina Kim, Laura Diaz and Rachel Hetherington were at 2 under.

The 23-year-old Ochoa also capitalized on the smooth-running greens at Locust Hill. ``The greens are not as fast as they usually are, and you have to take advantage of that,'' she said.

Morgan, 30, is a two-time runner-up who has struggled this season. Her best finish in 2005 is a tie for 27th at the season-opening SBS Open in Hawaii, and she's missed the cut in five of 10 tournaments.

``Yeah, just one shot at a time and stay patient, which I guess I haven't been this year,'' she said. ``It's really hard to pinpoint. Holing a few putts always helps.''

Rain coursed down throughout the day and the temperature never climbed above 64 degrees. The old-style course with its tight, undulating fairways -- also mindful of Wales -- is suited to short but accurate hitters like Morgan.

``Having to think your way around a golf course instead of slugging it off tees and stuff is probably more my game,'' she said.

Morgan led the tour in driving accuracy in 2003 at 83.4 percent and is eighth this year at 82.9 percent. But the 5-foot-2 graduate of North Carolina-Greensboro lags in distance, averaging 233.5 yards this year, 151st on tour.

She had a round of nine birdies and just one bogey, finding her touch with a new putter. Starting on the back nine, she opened with three birdies, bogeyed No. 14, but made up for that with a birdie at No. 17. After the turn, she ran off five consecutive birdies starting at the third and made a 40-foot putt on No. 6.

Ochoa, a runner-up three times this year, came off a two-week break to tie for fifth at last week's LPGA Championship and ranks third on the money list with $537,268. She burst to prominence with two wins in 2004, setting tour records for birdies (442), rounds under par (75) and rounds in the 60s (51). During her rookie year in 2003, she finished second in Rochester.

Cristie Kerr, second on the money list behind Annika Sorenstam, withdrew after six holes because of a knee injury. Sorenstam skipped the tournament to prepare for next week's U.S. Women's Open at Cherry Hills. Despite 62 career LPGA victories, the Swede's best finish in four tries in Rochester was a second in 1996.

Defending champion Kim Saiki, who broke a 12-year winless streak here last June, carded a 73.

The $1.5 million tournament is sponsored by Wegmans, a grocery store chain.

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