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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- With a long birdie putt to close the first round of the Safeway Classic, Lorena Ochoa put herself where she needed to be for a third straight win on the LPGA Tour.

"You have to have a good start," she said. "You can't waste time."

Ochoa was a stroke back of leaders Sophie Gustafson and Ji-Young Oh, who had the lead at Columbia Edgewater Country Club after first-round 6-under 66s.

Ochoa won the CN Canadian Women's Open in Edmonton, Alberta, last week. It was her second straight victory and fifth of the season. Her previous victory at the Ricoh Women's British Open was her first major title.

"I'm going to try very hard to get three in a row," said Ochoa, who is from Mexico. "That would be very special."

Ochoa finished with six birdies and a bogey. She threw up her arms after making a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole to finish the day with a 5-under 67.

Ochoa admits after her whirlwind past couple of weeks, she's tired. But, she said, it's not the same kind of tired that she has when she's struggling.

"At least, you know, you get to the hotel and you want a shower and probably watch a movie, but inside you're just really happy because a lot of good things are happening in your life," she said. "So it's different for sure, much better."

After Portland, Ochoa is taking a month off. Her brother is getting married.

The 19-year-old Oh, from South Korea, had never shot a round so low. She sparred a bit with caddie Doug Wilbur over the length of her seven birdie putts, estimating one, on the par-5 10th hole, at three feet. He said it was more like seven.

"That's how well she's putting," Wilbur said. "Everything looks so close."

Leta Lindley and Angela Stanford were two shots back of the leaders with 68s.

Michelle Wie, playing in Portland on a sponsor's exemption, continued her woes this season with a 79. Wie has made the cut just once in four previous appearances this year on the tour.

The 17-year-old has had trouble with her left wrist, but played down the injury's impact on her round, saying she was a bit sore "but not bad."

Defending champion Pat Hurst was 5 over on the 6,377-yard course near the Portland airport, where temperatures climbed into the mid-80s on Friday.

The biggest gallery followed a group that included Hall of Famers Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and Nancy Lopez.

Webb had the best round of the group with a 70, while Inkster shot a 75 and Lopez was among those in last place with an 82.

Lopez, who has 48 tour victories, is playing in her fifth tournament in a comeback bid. She has yet to make a cut. But she has won three times in Portland over her career.

"I'm hitting the ball well, but I can't get it from the driving range to the course," Lopez said. "It's a mental thing, but that's part of getting back into playing and competing."

Ochoa also had a large contingent of fans in her gallery, including a pair that carried a large Mexican flag. A sponsor's group of some 150 fans traveled from Guadalajara to watch her.

"It was like playing at home," she said.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.