Maria Verchenova of Russia was second at 68, a shot better than a five-woman group including Marianne Skarpnord of Norway, Julieta Granada of Paraguay, Morgana Robbertze of South Africa as well as In-kyung Kim and Bo-mi Suh of South Korea.
Wie posted a 1-under 71 in the season-ending Ladies European Tour event.
The 130th-ranked Parker, who was 11th on the European Tour money list, birdied three of her first four holes and five of the first nine to lead halfway through the opening round. She had a much quieter back nine with one birdie and a bogey.
“I had a great start and was hitting close to the pin and made the putts,” Parker said. “I felt really comfortable.
You have a few birdies and think you can birdie every hole.
... It just gives you confidence.” Parker, who grew up in Germany and was coached by her father Tim, earned her first victory this year in the Netherlands, and has six top-10 finishes in just her second year on the tour.
“I felt comfortable in my first year but when you win it gives you more confidence, and every time you tee it up you know you can do it,” she said. “I was feeling really good about this week. I got off to a great start. That is what I struggled with last year. I always struggled in the first round and was always a few shots behind.” Verchenova, who needs a top-20 finish to retain her European Tour card, said the round was reflective of her improving game since coming back from wrist and lower back injuries which plagued her season. After receiving an invitation from tournament organizers to play, Verchenova said she was satisfied with her outing.
“I didn’t have a good season but you know I am coming back thinking positive,” she said. “It is one of those weeks where I need a top-20 (finish) or I’ll go back to qualifying school. But I’m not thinking about that. I’m just playing.” The 10th-ranked Wie, who has been battling a bad back for weeks, was in second for much of the day after making two birdies on her first nine holes and then an eagle after the turn. Wie was at 3 under before taking triple bogey on the eighth hole, where she hit her drive out of bounds and her next shot into a bunker.
“I was pretty mad. I was like, I can’t believe that just happened,” Wie said. “But things happen on the golf course and all you can do is get mad for a little bit and move forward.” She managed to birdie her final hole.
“I’m just happy to be done,” Wie said. “I thought that I played pretty good, hopefully make a couple more putts out there tomorrow and not have a 7 on the card.” In the race for the European money title, neither South African Lee-Anne Pace nor her only challenger, seven-time winner Laura Davies, stood out.
Pace, who tops the money list, shot a 1-over 73. She can become the first South African to win the Order of Merit, if she fends off a challenge from Davies, who needs a top-two finish.
“I hit 13 greens which was OK but I didn’t hit anything really close except for 16,” Pace said. “The rest was just some bad decision-making ... too many bogeys unfortunately. I’m looking forward to going low tomorrow and hopefully the putts will drop.” Davies shot a 75 to lie in 60th place and in danger of missing the cut, which will be the top 50 players. She blamed her “awful” round on fatigue after she was woken by a phone call at 1 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep.
“You don’t like using excuses but from the word go I told Johnny we are in trouble here,” Davies said, referring to her caddie Johnny Scott. “I made a ridiculous double bogey on 10 and then it was a real struggle. To be honest, three-over is not a bad effort.” But Davies said she hadn’t given up and was inspired to pull one shot back by birdieing the 18th. “It’s not the end of the world yet,” she said. “We have to shoot 5 or 6 under every day for the next three days.”
