Park, Hedwall and Stoelting shoot 66s to share LPGA lead

South Korea's Park Hee-young, Sweden's Caroline Hedwall and American Jackie Stoelting each fired a six-under par 66 to share the lead after the opening round of the LPGA Kia Classic.

In the final tuneup before next week's first major championship of the LPGA season at Rancho Mirage, Park and Hedwall opened with bogey-free rounds at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California.

"It was just a solid day," Hedwall said. "I hit it really well and started making a couple putts in my back nine. Just I'm really happy with how I'm playing and looking forward to the rest of the days."
"It's just all about trust and having self-confidence. I feel like I've gained that now. I had good practice sessions the last couple days, and it's starting to pay off. That's really nice."
"The greens are really soft, so easier to play more with the second shot," Park said. "I tried to leave the uphill putts, so kind of worked well."
"The greens are so big that I really tried to narrow my focus. They were soft, so I was able to fire at pins. Just a really good day."