MELBOURNE, Australia -- Norways Suzann Pettersen birdied her last three holes in a 6-under 66 on Thursday to lead the womens Australian Open by a shot after the first round at the Victoria Golf Club. Wholesale MLB Jerseys . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. Shes in position to take the No. 1 spot in the world from Inbee Park with a victory or a solo second-place finish. "In the first round of the year youre always anxious to get started," Pettersen said. "It took me a while to get really comfortable, to trust what Ive been working on. "In the end the trust was stronger than the rest. I hit a lot of great shots but I also have to say I left a lot of shots out there. I three-putted a lot of greens, stupid three-putts really, but I also felt like I played good and gave myself a lot of birdie chances." Ricordeau, who had eight birdies, a bogey and a double bogey, briefly drew level with Pettersen before finishing among a group of four players with rounds of 67. Tied in second place were Park Hee-young of South Korea and Americans Jaclyn Sweeney and Jessica Korda, daughter of former tennis star Petr Korda and already a tournament winner this year. World No. 4 Lydia Ko of New Zealand was among a larger group at 4-under after a mixed opening round. The 16-year-old was one-under after her opening nine but came home with five birdies and two bogeys, including birdies at her last two holes. Australias Karrie Webb, a record four-time winner of the event, opened with a 71. The Hall of Famer had another brush with rules officials after being disqualified last week at Royal Pines for signing an incorrect scorecard after the second round. Webb started her round on the 10th tee Thursday and was told she had teed up fractionally in front of the tee marker. She was allowed to replace her ball without incurring a two-shot penalty. Cheap MLB Jerseys . -- It took a trip to sunny South Florida to cool off the Toronto Maple Leafs. MLB Jerseys China . Bab**** has one year left on his contract, and told reporters on Tuesday that getting a new deal this off-season is not a priority.AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Jabbed, prodded and poked repeatedly about a topic that never really goes away, Billy Payne wouldnt budge. Faced with questions at his annual news conference about when a woman would become a member at the home of the Masters, the Augusta National chairman gave different variations of the same answer: Thats our business, not yours. The topic was on the front burner again Wednesday, the eve of the years first major, because one of the clubs longtime sponsors, IBM, has a new CEO -- Virginia Rometty. The last four CEOs at IBM, all male, have been invited to be members. Paynes polite-but-firm responses were in direct contrast to those of his predecessor, Hootie Johnson. Faced with the issue 10 years ago, Johnson famously declared female membership would come on the clubs timetable and "not at the point of a bayonet." "As has been the case whenever that question is asked, all issues of membership have been and are subject to private deliberations of the members," Payne said when the inevitable question was asked for the first time Wednesday. "That statement remains accurate and that remains my statement." Asked to expand on his refusal to comment, he gave two reasons: "Number One, we dont talk about our private deliberations. Number Two, we especially dont talk about them when a named candidate is part of the question." He did not say whether Rometty was that specific "named candidate." The issue first came up in 2002, when Martha Burk, then the chair of the National Council of Womens Organizations, campaigned for Augusta National to end its all-male membership and threatened to boycott companies whose executives belonged to the club. Johnson responded by cutting loose corporate backers and the Masters was televised without commercials for the next two years. A planned protest before the 2003 Masters was a dud and the issue slowly receded. When Payne replaced Johnson as chairman of the club and of the Masters tournament in 2006, he said there was "no specific timetable" for admitting women. The question was raised at the 2007 and 2010 Masters. Both times, Payne said membership issues were private. Today, in addition to IBM, Exxon Mobile and AT&T are also sponsors of the Masters. Contacted after Paynes news conference, Burk said she didnt pay attention to it and had no plans to protest this year because "we saw that didnt work." Its not her job to pressure the club, she said, but rather, IBMs. "If theyre willing to diminish the ccompanys image, and to discredit in a certain way their new CEO, thats a loud and clear statement," Burk said.dddddddddddd"I would regret to see that very much. I think its astounding that one of the largest corporations in the world is having their strings pulled by a bunch of old guys in Augusta." Rometty, who took over as CEO on Jan. 1, is said to play golf sparingly. She is more passionate about scuba diving. IBM spokesman Ed Barbini said the company had no comment. Because the secrecy level at Augusta National is so high, there could already be a female member that nobody knows about. Though members are visible during the Masters because of their iconic green jackets, not every member is in attendance this week. Several reporters, trying to get a clearer picture of what goes on inside these gates, came at the question from different angles. Each time Payne graciously swatted them away, preferring to talk about the weather, developments of the clubs digital platforms and other issues surrounding the tournament that starts Thursday. Among the more awkward exchanges came when two reporters teamed up and accused Payne of sending a mixed message. Payne repeatedly talked about the clubs efforts to grow the game, yet the possible absence of a female member creates the perception that half the population is excluded. "That is a membership issue that Im not going to ... thank you for your," he said, being interrupted with another question along the same lines. Payne then interrupted that reporter: "Thank you for your question, sir." Another reporter, taking a page from the interviews with Johnson from 2003, tried to frame it not as a membership issue, but as a kitchen-table topic: What would you tell your granddaughters? "Well, my conversations with my granddaughters are personal," Payne said. Asked whether it takes away from the tournament when the issue of female membership surfaces in the lead-up, Payne also offered very little. "Theres certainly a difference of opinion on that," he said. "I dont think Ive formed an opinion on that. But certainly people have different opinions on that subject." Rejected time and again, the reporters then moved to a safer topic: The weather. Payne talked about the 1.4 inches of rain that came overnight, toppling trees and washing out bunkers. But he reassured people that the course would be fine by tee time Thursday morning, when Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit their ceremonial tee shots. ' ' '
