Ochoa, 27, the leading money-winner on the tour the last four years and again this season, put on an impressive show of power and touch, making eight birdies in a tournament she has never won.

“I hit the ball really good. I gave myself a lot of chances,” said Ochoa of Guadalajara, Mexico. “I couldn’t ask for a better way to start.”

Or finish. Ochoa got the lead with birdies at No. 17, where she dropped an 8-foot putt, and No. 18, where she took a bold line over water, bombing a 282-yard drive, setting up a gap wedge to within 10 feet.

On a day that started cloudy and misty and ended windy, sunny, and dry, the surge vaulted Ochoa past Wright, who used sizzling iron play to make six birdies, four of which came on putts inside five feet.

“I had my rain gear on and off about three times today,” said Wright, an Australian who has won more than $1.4 million in five years on tour, but is still seeking her first title.

The rest of the leaderboard looked like the Asian tour as Finland’s Minea Blomqvist (66) was joined by South Koreans Hee-Won Han (66), Sarah Lee (66), Seon Hwa Lee (67), Na Yeon Choi (67), and Amy Yang (67).

Former Michelob champions Suzann Pettersen (68) and Cristie Kerr (69) were within striking distance along with Michelle Wie (70), who had the lead in the morning and drew the day’s biggest gallery.

But Thursday belonged to Ochoa, who made five birdie putts from beyond 10 feet, using her non-conventional stroke, in which her head moves away from the hole as she strikes the ball.

“I’m not working on my head. I’m working on my alignment, how I swing and catch the ball,” said Ochoa. “I didn’t feel right at the beginning, but now I’m seeing a lot of good results.”

That’s bad news for Ochoa’s competition. Maybe they should pray for bad weather.

“I don’t like being cold,” said Ochoa. “So when I stepped out of my room this morning and I saw it was warm, I thought, it’s okay. I can do it.”

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