Lee misses birdie opportunities in LPGA

Minjee Lee has failed to take advantage of an ideal scoring day, finishing at two-under par after the opening round of LPGA's season-ending CME Group Championship.

One of five players in contention for Race to the CME Globe honours and the $1.4 million bonus that goes with it, Lee sits seven shots from the lead.

Lee, world No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn, Sung Hyun Park, Brooke Henderson and Nasa Hataoka would all win the Globe by winning the tournament at the Tiburon course.

But on a day where many went low, four of those five players didn't really get into the birdie barrage.

Lee made three birdies and a bogey on her way to a first round 70 and a share of 24th.

Playing the LPGA's season-ending event for the first time, Amy Olson was flawless with nine birdies and no dropped shots on her way to a nine-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Brittany Lincicome and Hataoka.

If the order of finish Sunday were the same as it was when Thursday's play ended, Hataoka would walk off with the Globe.

She already has an idea how she wound spend the bonus.

"Seeing all the houses on the golf course really inspires me to want one of those," Hataoka said.

Of the 72 players in the field, 45 were under par following the opening round - and the top four women on the leaderboard combined for only one bogey.

Lee was joined at two-under par by Katherine Kirk and Sarah Jane Smith as the leading Australians.