LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — Honolulu's Michelle Wie shot a 1-over-par 73 yesterday and was in a four-way tie for seventh after the first round of the Women's British Open.

Wie, who shot 34-39, trails leader Sandra Gal of Germany by four strokes.

Wie is hoping a victory this week could help secure a place on the U.S. Solheim Cup team to face Europe next month.

"There is still a lot of golf left ahead of us," Wie said. "But I felt pretty proud of how I played today."

Wie was 2-under at the turn on a day when stiff winds on the back nine at Royal Lytham and St. Annes made scoring difficult.

Bogeys at Nos. 10, 13 and 17 — all par-4s — dropped Wie below par. Her lone bogey on the back nine came at the par-5 11th.

Gal finished late to seize the lead from Angela Stanford and Song-Hee Kim, who each posted a 70.

At 9:15 p.m., at the end of a round that lasted nearly six hours, Gal chipped from the greenside rough over a mound to about a foot from the flag. She escaped with a skillful par for her 69.

JAPAN TOUR

FUJIKAWA MAKES CUT

Honolulu's Tadd Fujikawa shot a 4-under 68 yesterday and was expected to make the cut in the Sun Chlorella Classic at Hokkaido.

Fujikawa was in a tie for 36th at even-par 144 with many still on the course.

Hilo's Greg Meyer was tied for 97th with 75—149.

ELSEWHERE

Buick Open: Steve Lowery took advantage of perfect conditions in the morning yesterday to tie a course record with a 29 on the front nine, finishing with a 9-under 63 to take a one-stroke lead over John Senden at Grand Blanc Township, Mich.

"It looks like the weather is going to be pretty mild this week, so my (prediction to win) was 24 under," the 48-year-old Lowery said. "Obviously 9 under is a great start, but if you don't follow it up the rest of the week, it ain't going to hang around."

Tiger Woods shot a 1-under 71 in his first tournament since missing the cut at the British Open. If Woods fails to break 70 in the second round today, he will put himself in danger of missing cuts in consecutive tournaments for the first time as a pro.

Hawai'i's Dean Wilson was in a tie for 44th after opening with a 69.

U.S. Senior Open: Greg Norman birdied four straight holes on the front nine in the first round yesterday, but a bogey on the final hole left him in a four-way tie with Joey Sindelar, Dan Forsman and amateur Tim Jackson at 6-under 66 at Carmel, Ind.

"I played well today and the golf course was ready to be had. It was perfect conditions," the 54-year-old Norman said. "The greens were just receptive enough to be aggressive with the shots if you want to play 'em."

Andy Bean and Fulton Allem were both one shot back at 67.