Japan's Shiho Oyama carded a first-round 64 on Wednesday to top the leaderboard as final qualifying for the LPGA Tour got underway.

Precocious pro Michelle Wie made a solid start in her bid to earn her LPGA Tour card for 2009, carding a 69 on the Legends course, the more difficult of two courses being used for the five-day event.

Wie has not lived up to her considerable promise since becoming the youngest player to make a cut in an LPGA event when she accomplished the feat at the Nabisco Championship in 2003 at the age of 13.

Still just 19, Wie battled a wrist injury and endured a disappointing 2008 campaign, missing three cuts and getting disqualified from another tournament among her nine LPGA events.

She needs only to finish in the top 20 of the qualifying tournament to earn her card for next year.

Wie's effort put her in a tie for sixth after the first round. She finished with a flourish, draining a 25-foot birdie putt at the last hole.

Japanese amateur Mika Miyazato was second after the first round after a 66, followed by American Mollie Frankhauser and South Korean Amy Yang, sharing third on 67.

South Korea's Jeehae Lee was alone in fifth after a 68.

Oyama, who has enjoyed success on the Japanese women's tour, said she hoped she could continue that on the increasingly international US tour.

"This is the strongest tour in the world, and I wanted to get up to the next stage and compete on the highest level," she said of her qualifying bid. "So, that's the main reason."

She acknowledged that the 90-hole Q-school was a demanding test.

"There are four more days to go, and you never know what's going to happen," she said. "Plus, it's a different course tomorrow, so I'm going to not think about anything, just try to focus on my game tomorrow."

Miyazato said she enjoyed a "good day of golf" but would approach Thursday as a clean slate.

"Well, I just have to forget about my score today," she said. "I just have to stick to the basics in how I play my game. Tomorrow is a new day, and it will be a new day of golf for me tomorrow too."

AFP

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