Michelle Wie studies her putt along with her father and caddy, B.J. Wie, on the sixth hole in the first round of the LPGA Samsung Championship golf tournament at Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif. REED SAXON | Associated Press

The $1 million, 72-hole tournament — being held at the Bighorn Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif. — features a 20-player limited field of the LPGA's top money leaders, along with Wie (special exemption).

Wie parred the first two holes and birdied the third to go 1-under. But her day went south from that point.

She double-bogeyed the par-4 fourth and then bogeyed the par-4 fifth, the par-3 eighth and the par-4 ninth to make the turn at 4-over 40.

Her back nine proved to be just as brutal.

She bogeyed 10, 11, 14 (par 4s) and 15 (par 5) before rallying with a birdie on the par-4 17th to close with a back-nine score of 3-over 39.

Wie's playing partner, Angela Park, birdied the final two holes to grab the clubhouse lead at 5-under 67.

Lorena Ochoa, the LPGA's No. 1 player, Mi Hyun Kim and Morgan Pressel are at 4-under 68.

Paula Creamer also is at 4-under through 15 holes.

In Wie's seven tournaments this year, she's missed three cuts, withdrew twice and has an average score of 76.7.

The event will not have a 36-hole cut — where the field usually is trimmed in half — and last place is worth $12,499, more than the $9,898 Wie has earned this year.

Wie was given a special exemption in March. Her entry in the field knocked out Natalie Gulbis.