Ochoa on Mark With 62

Lorena Ochoa stepped up to the first tee at the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Thursday and thought it just might be one of those days.

It wasn’t what she saw at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, it was what she didn’t see: wind.

That, to her, was a green light for aggressive play, so from the first hole, Ochoa began firing at pins with pinpoint precision. By the time she had finished the first round of the season’s first major, the 24-year-old from Mexico was in the record books with a 10-under-par 62.

Ochoa not only set a tournament record but equaled the best round in the history of LPGA major championships. She had 10 birdies in a bogey-free day that gave her a four-shot lead over 16-year-old Michelle Wie, who equaled her career-best round with a 66.

Stacy Prammanasudh is another shot back after shooting a 67 and Torrance High senior Angela Park, an amateur, is in fourth after 68.

But the story of the first round kept coming back to Ochoa.

“Everything was easy and everything was so clear,” she said. “In the morning when I saw there was no wind, I just told myself ... try to play aggressive today and make some birdies and it turned out to be really good.”

Ochoa started at the 10th hole and promptly hit her nine-iron approach shot to within two feet. On the next hole, she was within four feet.

She hit 16 greens in regulation and of her birdies, seven came after approach shots to within 10 feet or closer. On the par-four fourth she missed the green and chipped in for birdie.

The only other LPGA player to shoot 62 in a major was Minea Blomqvist in the 2004 Women’s British Open. The previous Kraft Nabisco record was a 63 by Mary Beth Zimmerman in 1997.

It’s a career-low round for Ochoa, a three-time winner on the LPGA Tour who is seeking her first major championship title. She holds the LPGA record for most rounds in the 60s during a season with 51 in 2004, but this, she said, was special.

“The first round in a major championship makes it a whole different story,” she said.

It also makes it difficult for the challengers. Paula Creamer, Juli Inkster and Morgan Pressel, who took a double bogey on her ninth hole after hitting into the water twice, are among a group of five that shot 69.

Karrie Webb heads a list of seven players at 70 and defending champion Annika Sorenstam needed a birdie at the 18th to get into red figures and is among a group of seven at 71.

Sorenstam said she did a double take when she saw Ochoa’s score on the leaderboard.

“I didn’t know if she was on the 10th hole or if she was really 10 under,” she said. “This golf course is not easy. She made it look easy, but I’m telling you that’s just an incredible round.”

Wie also made it look easy, posting a bogey-free round while playing in front of one of the largest galleries of the day. She hit a couple of wayward drives, but recovered each time.

She said she was battling a sore wrist -- “uncomfortable” is how she described it -- but came away pleased with her solid play.

“I’m really glad I played well in the first round,” Wie said. “Usually I have a hard time starting off real well. Hopefully I will just get better and better each day.”

That’s what it will take to catch Ochoa. If the leader shoots even par for the next three days, her 10-under total will be more than respectable. In the 34 previous Kraft Nabisco Championships, 21 were won with a total of 10-under or higher. Sorenstam was 15 under last year.

Still, playing while trying to protect a lead can sometimes be daunting. “You’re going to know there are people chasing you, that’s for sure,” Creamer said. “We still have a lot of golf left and the course is just going to get more difficult.”

Sorenstam, who has said that winning all four majors is her goal, said she was confused about her inability to score and must quickly find a way to rectify the situation.

“It was very close, but not really it,” she said of her game.

“I need to do something for the rest of the week. In three days anything can happen. We’ve all seen it. I just have to focus on my own game and I’ve got to post some scores myself and see what happens.”

* TEE TIMES: D14