Man About Golf

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) -Yani Tseng shot a 4-under 68 in the opening round at Royal Birkdale on Thursday, and is tied for the lead as she pursues her third major title.

The rising star from Taiwan shot a bogey-free round that included a birdie and an eagle on the two finishing holes, putting her in a tie for the lead with Australian Katherine Hull.

``I played really, really solid. I hit all greens but one today and I putted pretty well,'' said Tseng, who already has won the Kraft Nabisco Championship this season to go with the LPGA Championship she won in 2008.

``The last two par-fives were just like long par-fours with the wind, so I stayed relaxed and tried to make birdies,'' Tseng said. ``It was pretty good

Hull was among the last players on the course and also made an eagle on the 18th hole - in front of nearly deserted grandstands - to join Tseng at 4 under. Hull dropped a stroke at the fourth hole before rattling off three birdies in a four-hole stretch beginning at No. 7.

``I hit a drive and a hybrid onto the last green and holed from 60 feet, a great way to finish,'' Hull said. ``I had a long talk with my caddie last week and unearthed a secret to improve my game. I had become lazy with my routine and the improvement made all the difference.''

Anne-Lise Caudal of France took the early lead with her round of 3-under 69, and she was matched later in the day by South Korea's Kim Lang and Sun Young Yoo, along with Brittany Lincicome of the United States.

``I've never played links golf before, only two practice rounds this week'' said Caudal, the 2008 Portuguese Open winner. ``I played really well today.

Like Caudal, Yang had only one bogey during her round, while Lincicome was in for a much more interesting trip around Royal Birkdale. She dropped three strokes on the first two holes before playing the rest of her round in 6-under par.

``I putted really well after four-putting the first for double-bogey,'' she said. ``Afterwards I hit a lot of really long putts, which is unusual for me, but nice.''

``Being a long hitter helped today as well, having wedges onto greens instead of mid-irons.''

Fellow American Michelle Wie opened with a 2-under 70, as did In-Kyung Kim of South Korea.

``I felt good all the way round today,'' Wie said. ``I hit some good putts, they just didn't go in until at the end.''

Julie Inkster opened with a 71, along with Jiyai Shin, the South Korean star who won the Evian Masters in France last weekend. England's Laura Davies shot a level-par 72, LPGA champion Christie Kerr shot 73 and reigning U.S. Open champ Paula Creamer had a 75.

Defending champion Catriona Matthews was at 3-over 75 after the opening round.

``You need to know how to get the ball round this hard golf course in tough conditions,'' Davies said. ``Experience counts for a lot in this sort of championship.''