Davies survives after poor opening

Laura Davies recovered from a pair of bogeys on the first two holes on her way to a two-up victory over Chieko Amanuma in the first round of the Cisco World Matchplay championship here yesterday.

"I got off to a rough start, but Chieko missed a par putt on the third hole and that's when I got my chance to move ahead," said Davies, who had only one bogey the rest of the way and was due to face Emilee Klien of the United States in the second round last night.

The 38-year-old is hoping to repeat her success at the WPGA International Matchplay, where she beat Scotland's Janice Moodie 5 and 4 in the final. In other first-round matches, Sweden's Annika Sorenstam defeated Mineko Nasu 3 and 2 and South Korea's Se Ri Pak beat Michiko Hattori 2 and 1.

This is the first matchplay event in nine years for the LPGA, who called off last week's tournament in Jeju, South Korea, as a result of the military action in Afghanistan.

The 32-player field is comprised of 16 LPGA Tour players and 16 members of the Japanese LPGA Tour.