SOUTHPORT, England -- Ayako Uehara of Japan felt confident with the putter and played in the best weather Royal Birkdale has to offer. It was the right combination to take the lead Thursday in the Womens British Open. And the best she could manage was a 4-under 68. Pot bunkers can present problems on any links course. Throw in some thick grass and par becomes a problem. Michelle Wie could attest to that. The U.S. Womens Open champion spent too much time chipping out of sand and rough on her way to a 75. Cristie Kerr didnt make a birdie, shot 81 and withdrew with a sore back. Only nine players broke par, all but two of them in the relative calm of a sunny morning along the Irish Sea. "Its only going to get harder," defending champion Stacy Lewis said after a 71. "Anything under par on this golf course is a good score." Uehara got her lone mistake out of the way early and made another bogey after the opening hole. She made three birdies in a four-hole stretch, added two birdies on the back nine and built a one-shot lead over Mo Martin. "Ayako obviously put up a really good number," said Lewis, who played in her group. "She seems like she wasnt in trouble at all. She was just greens, greens, centre of the green. You can kind of learn a little bit from that and maybe not go at so many pins." Morgan Pressel scrambled her way to a 70, joined by Sarah Kemp and Mina Harigae. The only players who broke par in the afternoon were former U.S. Womens Open champion So Yeon Ryu and Amy Yang, who played in the final group at the U.S. Womens Open last month. Both shot 71. "I dont think they can make it any easier," Pressel said. That doesnt bode well for Wie, who was introduced on the first tee as the U.S Womens Open champion and then posted her highest score of the year. Wie had to birdie the par-5 18th hole -- the only time she hit driver -- to finish 3 over. "Thought I made a good game plan," Wie said. "Just didnt hit good shots today." Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., had a 2-over 74. The scores Thursday might have been a preview of what the men can expect next week at Royal Liverpool for The Open Championship, through Royal Birkdale is a stronger test. The links courses are separated by about 25 miles, and a wet spring has allowed the grass to get thick and lush. That makes it difficult to make contact with the golf ball, assuming it can be found. Tiger Woods won at Liverpool in 2006 on a fast course with wispy grass. "The golf course is so hard, I couldnt imagine four days of this much rough and all the wind and everything it entails," Lewis said "Its nice to have it pretty calm today." Pressel had 23 putts, though only four of them were for birdie. She escaped with par when she found trouble off the tee and one time salvaged bogey. Playing her third shot from the right rough to a pin on the right side of the tough 16th green protected by a pot bunker, Pressel played short of the green and got up-and-down to limit the damage. Her putter made all the difference. "I was happy that I made it look easier than it actually was," Pressel said. It wasnt like that for everyone. Paula Creamer was 5-over par after five holes and rallied for a 75. The best comeback belonged to Jessica Korda, who went out in 39 and then made four birdies on the back nine to return to even par. Karrie Webb, Inbee Park, Suzann Pettersen and Kraft Nabisco champion Lexi Thompson also were at even par. The way it looked Thursday, anyone around par might be in good shape when it ends on Sunday. Wie now has to climb back on a course that makes it feel as though she has to scale a mountain. She tried to rely on her powerful stinger off the tee, using mostly hybrids, to stay short of the bunkers and out of the rough. But she hit only seven fairways, leading to three of her bogeys. "I definitely felt like my tempo was a little bit off," Wie said. "But its a long way until Sunday, and I battled out there. Its not the score I was looking forward to on Thursday, but it could have been a lot worse." Martin had a plan for Birkdale, too. She is one of the shorter hitters on the LPGA Tour and cant recall a round where she hit so many 3-woods off the tee, all in an effort to stay out of trouble. "Every hole, every shot is its own test," Martin said. "You just really have to have so much strategy. It keeps you in the moment and its a challenge. Its a fun challenge." Stitched NBA Jerseys . Consider it received. Attacking on offence early and often, the Penguins topped the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Saturday night as Jussi Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to help give Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference playoff series. NBA Jerseys China . 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"We cant seem to get firing on all cylinders all the time." Koe could have finished first at the Tim Hortons Brier this week but he lost his last round-round game to Quebec and created a three-way tie for top spot with B.C. and Manitoba. The tiebreaking formula gave B.C. hammer and choice of rocks in the 1-2 Page playoff game, which they won. Koe then had to play Quebec again, after they beat Manitoba in the 3-4 game to get into the final. Hes used to it, since he had to fight even harder to win his first title in 2010 when he came up from the 3-4 game. Alberta capitalized on B.C.s mistakes to score three big three-enders. If not for the needs of television, the handshakes would likely have come in eight but they played nine ends. It was a crushing end to a Cinderella week for Kamloops native son Jim Cotter, who throws fourth stones for B.C. and had been solid all week but made some of those mistakes that cost his team the game Sunday. "Jimmy had some uncharacteristic misses there and we were fortunate and when it did happen, we really capitalized," said Koe. "The first three was the big one." The numbers told the tale. Koe shot 92 per cent, Cotter 82 and B.C. skip and third stone Morris was at 72 per cent. "We just missed a couple of too many shots early," said Morris. "We were just a little bit fooled by the ice." This is the second loss in the big game in four months for the Morris-Cotter rink. They also lost the final at the Olympic trials to Brad Jacobs in December in Winnipeg. "Whether its in front of your home fans or in front of Winnipeg fans or wherever, its no fun," said Cotter. "Obviously you want to win, but thats curling, thats the way it goes. "They were bang on. They were making everything. Its tough to come back from that." As for what the future holds, he couldnt say. "I really havent thought too much about the future. . . I guess over the next few weeks or what not well reflect a little bit and kind of see wwhere things are at and go from there.dddddddddddd" Uncertainty also hangs over Alberta, which, with the win, is now only one behind Manitobas record 27 Brier victories. Second Carter Rycroft, whose wife is pregnant, has said hes taking a year off curling and the win didnt change his mind. He was also named the most valuable player and shot 96 per cent in the final game. "This is it as far as me not curling next year," he said emphatically. Koe doesnt know what he future holds either. "I dont know what will happen with that, we havent talked about it, we havent even thought about," he said. "Nows the time to celebrate this win and well look forward to (being) Team Canada (at the world championship) in China and whatever happens, happens." Canadian Curling Association rules require that Team Canada retain at least three players to return to the Brier. Next year in Calgary is the first year Team Canada will automatically get a berth in the Brier. Its also the first year the bottom finishers will have to play their way in. Over the last three years, thats Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as well as new entrants Nunavut and a separate Yukon team. The Brier went well for B.C. until Sunday night, although they finished in a three-way 9-2 tie with Manitoba and Alberta at the top of he round robin. They beat Alberta in the 1-2 game to move straight to the final and opened well with a deuce in the first end, setting the sellout home-town crowd into a frenzy. But Alberta responded with a three in the second end after Morris was heavy and rolled through. Cotter did the same thing in four when he flashed on a freeze attempt, had to draw for one and accomplished that only by a slim margin. In five, with rocks scattered around the 12, Cotter lost his shooter, letting Koe gently tap a B.C. rock back to score another three. A final three in the sixth end made it 9-4. Earlier in the day, Manitobas Jeff Stoughton took the bronze medal winning 9-5 in nine ends after scoring two in the first and stealing two in the second on a missed Quebec runback. But both Stoughton and Quebec skip Jean-Michel Menard said it was a game they dont even think should be part of the Brier. "Ill try to be nice, but this game shouldnt exist," said Menard. "Its useless." ' ' '