Stephanie Meadow shot an one-over par 72 at the opening round of the LA Championship in Los Angeles.
The first tournament after the opening major championship of the season has seen some big names opt out, including the top two ranked players in the world, Nelly Korda and Lilia Vu.
Vu didn't play in last week’s Chevron Championship either owing to a back complaint.
The top ranked player in the field, world number 3 Celine Boutier of France is well placed to mount a challenge after a three-under par round of 68.
Meadow was among the early starters in California and it was steady rather than spectacular from the 32-year-old, a bogey at 10 the outlier in a scorecard otherwise full of pars.
Grace Kim, looking for her second LPGA victory in her fourth season, holds the lead after the first round.
She shot a seven-under-par 64 at Wilshire Country Club, leaving her one shot ahead of Sweden's Maja Stark, Thailand's Chanettee Wannasaen and South Korea's Sei Young Kim.
Auston Kim, South Korea's Haeran Ryu and Russia's Nataliya Guseva are tied for fifth at five under.
Defending champion Hannah Green of Australia, Amy Yang of South Korea and Bianca Pagdanganan of the Philippines share eighth place at four under.
The tour's in-form player, Nelly Korda, is taking the week off after winning the Chevron Championship last week for her fifth victory in five starts.
Additional reporting: Reuters
