LOS ANGELES — K.J. Choi has won tournaments hosted by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods over the past nine months during a steady climb into the top 10 in the world. Further proof of Choi’s staying power came Thursday on a cool, windy morning at Riviera.
He managed to take the early lead at Hogan’s Alley.
On a course that has given him fits, Choi played bogey-free in breezy conditions for a 6-under-par 65 and a one-shot lead over Kevin Na in the Northern Trust Open.
“This course, I’ve always had trouble putting and my iron shots have always been a problem,” Choi said. “But I felt like they were working today, and I think even the weather was pretty pleasant when I played. So it all worked out good.”
It didn’t work out so well for the late starters, who faced a strong wind that could be heard as much as it was felt, rattling the pins on every green and making it tough to get it close to the hole, especially as the sun and temperatures dropped late in the afternoon.
Seventeen players failed to finish the round before dark.
Chad Campbell and Vaughn Taylor were at 67. Phil Mickelson took a 30-minute commute by plane from his home north of San Diego and opened with a 68.
Sergio Garcia, among several international players making their 2008 debut on the PGA Tour, opened with a 74. Adam Scott shot 73, while Retief Goosen shot 42 on the front on his way to a 79.
Kuehne holds first-round lead
KAHUKU, Hawaii — Kelli Kuehne shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 for a one-stroke lead over South Korea’s Jacqueline Yang after the first round of the LPGA Tour’s season-opening SBS Open.
Annika Sorenstam, coming off an injury-shortened season where she failed to win for the first time since her rookie season in 1994, opened with a 70 — matching playing partner and defending champion Paula Creamer.
Footnotes.
Canadian David Hearn and Americans Darron Stiles and Matt Bettencourt shot 6-under 66s to share the lead after the first round of the New Zealand PGA Championship in Christchurch.
• David Bransdon and Joost Luiten shot 6-under 64s to take the lead in the suspended first round of the Indonesian Open in Jakarta.
The Associated Press
