Stephanie Meadow is five shots behind joint leaders Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko after one round of the LPGA Drive On Championship in Florida.
Korda and New Zealander Ko shot six-under 65s at Bradenton Country Club, good for a one-stroke lead over Denmark's Nanna Koerstz Madsen.
China's Ruoning Yin, last year's Women's PGA Championship winner, opened with a four-under 67, tying for fourth with South Koreans Sei Young Kim and Minji Kang and Thailand's Chanettee Wannasaen.
Antrim woman Meadow hit a one-under 70 to lie in a share of 25th. She bogeyed her opening hole, the par-four 10th, and also the 14th but was flawless thereafter, recording three birdies.
Leona Maguire also started on 10, and fared better with a birdie, but that was her only one of the day as she dropped two shots on 12 and another on 7 (her 16th) for a two-over 73.
Korda, a Bradenton native, is seeking her first LPGA victory since November 2022, while Ko could win her third straight outing after claiming last week's season opener, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and December's mixed-team exhibition - with Australian Jason Day - the Grant Thornton Invitational.
"Definitely nice to be able to win the first event of the year, especially because you don't have anything really to reference your round off or your game," Ko said.
"Grant Thornton was only five weeks ago, but that's a completely different format, and so it wasn't like I was coming in with a ton of like really good momentum.
"But just trying to feed off what was going well last week, and overall I thought I played really solid."
Ko rolled in six birdies on a bogey-free day, while Korda's round was more adventurous.
Korda brushed off an opening bogey with birdies on the par-4 second and third holes. After another birdie at the par-5 sixth, she went eagle-birdie-birdie at holes 8-10 to rise to 6 under.
She described her eagle at the par-5 eighth as a "tap-in."
"I hit my driver really well on this hole. Gosh, I think I had 257 into the pin and hit my 3-wood really good. It was helping off the left. Played it nicely off the slope to a tap-in."
She finished her round with a second bogey and her sixth and final birdie.
"I love every single time I get to play in Florida," Korda said. "I feel like people come out and support. But it's better to play literally in your hometown, so definitely felt a lot of the support and it was great."
Koerstz Madsen made six birdies and a single bogey for her 5-under 66.
"It was a good day. I played steady golf," she said. "Missed a green here and there but made an up and down. My approach was just staying, being a little patient out there because it was a grind. I mean, it was a lot of wind out there, so keep it on the high side of the hole."
