Carlsbad Resident Jennifer Johnson in 4th Place at Kia Classic

Yani Tseng, Caroline Hedwall and Ji Young Oh hold a one- shot lead over two golfers, including Carlsbad resident Jennifer Johnson, entering today's second round of the $1.7 million Kia Classic.

The trio all fired rounds of five-under-par 67s Thursday on the South Course at La Costa Resort and Spa. Tseng, a native of Taiwan who is first in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, and Oh, a South Korean ranked 342nd, both had six birdies and one bogey. Hedwall, a Swede who played at Oklahoma State and is ranked 24th, had seven birdies and two bogeys.

Johnson, ranked 151st, and Suzann Pettersen of Norway, third in the world rankings, are tied for fourth, one shot back in the first LPGA Tour event in the San Diego area since 2010.

The tournament was played last year at the Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms in Industry because of a $50 million renovation project at La Costa.

Tseng, who hit only eight fairways and 12 greens in regulation, told reporters after the round that "I got pretty lucky." "I got some good bounces and even if I hit into a rough, I still had a good lie," said Tseng, the winner of two of the LPGA's four tournaments this year, including the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, which concluded Sunday in Phoenix, and five of her last 11 tournaments.

Tseng played the back nine first. She closed the round by missing an approximately six-foot putt on the eighth hole, bogeying the par-3 hole, but she birdied the par-4 ninth. "It was a pretty happy day," Tseng said.

Pettersen, who played in the same threesome as Tseng, said "she hit a lot of great shots." "Her bad shots are still very acceptable," Pettersen said. "She recovers well from whenever she is in trouble. She has a pretty sharp short game. That's probably what saves her the most."

Oh closed her round with back-to-back birdies. She missed the cut in 10 of the 11 tournaments she played in last year. She began this season by missing the cut at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open and tied for 68th in last week's RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup. Johnson said she "was just really motivated after a tough week last week," referring to her missing the cut in the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup. Johnson said she maybe had close to 15 relatives and friends watch her play Thursday. "Having all my friends and family out here supporting me made for a really good day,'' said Johnson, who is expecting a larger group of relatives and friends to watch her Friday.

The 144-player field will be reduced to the low 70 scores plus ties at the conclusion of today's play. The tournament is scheduled to conclude Sunday.

The winner will receive $255,000.

–City News Service