Women's British Open: The golfer they once called Cash 'n' Karrie Webb has been on short rations recently. Yesterday, though, she rediscovered the game that for the past seven seasons has set the tills ringing and she shares the lead after the first round of the Women's British Open. David Davies  reports from Royal Lytham & St Annes.

Webb and American Wendy Ward are both five under after 67s, with the world number one, Annika Sorenstam, only one stroke behind. Se Ri Pak, the Korean with four majors to her name in six years on tour, is among those on three under.

Laura Davies, though, with the advantage of the best of the weather, took 75. "I'm still in it," she said. "No one shoots five under every day."

Webb hit some wondrous shots on the way to playing the par fives in five under par. The wind coming off the North Sea blew across the sixth, seventh and 11th and into the players' faces on the 15th. It was at the last of these that Webb struck the blow that brought an eagle.

After a drive which found the fairway just short of the bunker on the left, she hammered a three-wood 230 yards, to 25 feet, then holed the putt.

Sorenstam admitted that when she stood on the first tee at 12.14 p.m. she was (a) expecting the wind to get up in the afternoon and (b) wishing it was her name that had -5 after it. But the wind continued to blow gently by Lytham standards and when the Swede reached the 15th a score of five under was attainable.

This hole, as a par four for the men, is one of the hardest on the course. Yesterday, as a par five, it was the easiest, averaging 4.73, and the Swede was already four under. But she bunkered her drive, found deep rough with her third and had to chip and single-putt for a bogey.

She redeemed herself on the 17th, a hole which yesterday played almost half a stroke more difficult than its par of four. "It's what, 406 yards?" she said. "And normally that's an automatic driver. But I hit seven-wood, seven-wood."

The second finished 20 feet away and she holed the putt for a rare birdie.

Asked whether she had seen the famous Bobby Jones plaque, which marks an amazing stroke played by the American on the 17th when he won the Open at Lytham in 1926, she confessed she had not, but would like to in today's round.