ASSOCIATED PRESS Michelle Wie watched her shot from the first tee during the opening round of the LPGA Tour's SBS Open at Turtle Bay Resort.

Wind doesn’t
bother Rosales

The Filipina golfer leads
the SBS Open at Turtle Bay
with a 6-under 66 in tough
morning conditions

With all this talk about the future of the LPGA Tour being in the hands of teenagers, it was the 20-somethings who ruled with an iron fist during yesterday's opening round of the inaugural SBS Open.

By the end of the wind-swept day, Jennifer Rosales' 6-under 66 on the difficult Arnold Palmer-designed course was the number everyone else wished they had in their bag. Angela Stanford, Lorena Ochoa, Sung Ah Yim and Heather Bowie were close with 4-under 68s, but couldn't match what Rosales did during difficult morning conditions.

Juli Inkster was the only golfer to crash the 20-something party at the top of the leaderboard. Her 3-under 69 assured her of being only one of six golfers to break 70 over the opening 18 holes of the year's first full-field event on the women's tour.

Not that the teenagers didn't make some noise. Michelle Wie led the way with a 2-under 70 that left her in a tie for seventh with 13 other golfers, including 19-year-old Brittany Lincicome, who led after the first round of the 2004 U.S. Open.

"I have to say I was a little bit nervous coming in because I had not played in a long time," Wie said. "I just think that I have the feel now. I think I left a lot behind. It was one of those rounds where I could have shot really low. I just think that I could have made a lot more birdies, but I did good for the first round."

Other notables caught in the 2-under logjam are Grace Park, who managed four birdies on the back nine; Hee-Won Han; Cristie Kerr; and tour veterans Rosie Jones and Pat Hurst. In all, 44 golfers shot par or better in conditions that were tough in the morning and a little easier in the afternoon.

"I think we got lucky with the afternoon tee time," said Ochoa, who finished third on the money list to Annika Sorenstam and Park in 2004. "I heard it was not very nice in the morning, so I was very fortunate with that, and I think I took advantage of the opportunity."

Rosales took off at 8:30 a.m. and left the other 131 golfers wondering where she went. The 26-year-old of Southern California fame opened with a 4-under 32 on the back nine and kept right on going with a 2-under 34 on the front.

The minute she arrived in the media room, she went straight to the computers to see how many greens she hit (all of them) and how many putts she needed (30) to secure the best opening round of the young season.

"I felt good when I woke up this morning," Rosales said. "I felt like I was going to shoot low, but I didn't know it was going to be this low. I am happy and hope that I can keep going until the end."

Who will be around at the end depends on how they handle the ever-changing conditions at the Turtle Bay Resort. While the wind stayed away during the Champions Tour event last month, the famous breeze at Oahu's most northern tip made its presence felt yesterday from the opening tee shot.

Stanford was the first golfer in at 4-under 68. Like Rosales, she toured the course in the morning hours and was pleased with her position. The 27-year-old graduate of Texas Christian still calls Fort Worth home. And if you play golf in the Lone Star State, then the wind must be your friend.

"It was windier than the practice round," Stanford said. "I don't like the wind, but I can play in it if I have to. I like the course. I like the layout. It has a lot of character. I love the grass. I don't know what type of grass it is, but I love it. I love the greens. I grew up playing mostly Bermuda, so they are somewhat familiar to me. I just feel good out there."

Ochoa had a good feel for things as well. The 23-year-old from Mexico managed two wins last year en route to pocketing $1.45 million. She knows catching Sorenstam will prove difficult, but she also realizes the only way to track her down is to keep playing as well as she did during only her second season on tour.

"I want to be in the top five," Ochoa said. "Last year that was my goal and I finished in the top three. Obviously, the difference Annika has with us is huge. For me, it would be a good year to get closer to her and just to decrease that difference she has on us.

"I played very good today, very easy. I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. I did not have any bogeys. That is one of my goals this year to not make so many bogeys. I am a crazy golfer. I can make six, seven birdies and then three or four bogeys. I am going to try to be more patient."

Her patience paid off yesterday. She was one of only four golfers who carded a bogey-free round. Rosales also turned that trick and will need to stay hot to keep her fellow 20-somethings at bay.

"The course is awesome," Rosales explained for her 18-hole success. "It kind of fits my game because I play the ball left to right. The course I played back home (the Philippines) is the same wind. It is not by the beach, but it blows up. I like playing in the tough conditions."