Lydia Ko is one of nine players in a share of the second place, sitting one shot off top of the pile after the first day of the LPGA's Arkansas Championship.
The Kiwi carded a six-under 65 on the first round at the Pinnacle Country Club and holds second-equal with the US' Christina Kim and Lexi Thompson, Australia's Hannah Green, Germany's Olivia Cowan, South Korea's Jenny Shin, Malaysia's Kelly Tan and Nicole Broch Estrup of Denmark.
South Korea's Hae Ran Ryu leads the chasing pack by a single shot after she carded a seven-under 64 on the first day.
Seeking her first win of 2023, Ko carded seven birdies in her first round but did drop a shot on the par four fourth hole - which would otherwise have seen her share the lead outright heading into day two.
Starting on the front nine, Ko birdied her third hole before dropping a shot, only to bounce back immediately with a birdie on the fifth.
Another birdie on the ninth saw the Kiwi finish her front nine at two-under, before a near-perfect display to finish her first round.
Birdies on the 10th, 15th, 16th and one more on the 18th saw Ko rocket up the leaderboard and into contention, as the sextuplet of leaders will return on Sunday (NZ time) in an arm-wrestle for first place.
Ko's last victory came nearly 12 months ago, when she lifted the CME Group Tour Championship in Florida last November.
