Punahou School alums Parker McLachlin and Michelle Wie had their best starts of the year yesterday, finishing near the top of their respective leaderboards.

McLachlin had seven birdies and two bogeys en route to a 5-under 67 and a tie for second at the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Wie, a sophomore at Stanford, fired a 7-under 66 and was tied with South Korea's Na Yeon Choi, one stroke behind defending champion Lorena Ochoa after the first round of the LPGA Tour's Corona Championship at Morelia, Mexico.

McLachlin is tied with five others, a stroke behind Charlie Wi at the TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.

McLachlin had three birdies and a bogey in a front-nine 34 and four birdies and a bogey in a back-nine 33.

"It felt good out there today," McLachlin said. "Nice to get off to a good start early this morning. The greens were in great shape. Seemed to make a few putts out there."

McLachlin, who earned his first PGA Tour victory last season, has been struggling after a swing change this season.

"I've been putting in a lot of time and effort the last six weeks," McLachlin said. "Every week that I've missed the cut I've been out there four, five hours Saturday and a couple of hours Sunday grinding it out, working on it. So it's been a lot of hard work putting it in to get to this place where I can put a good round together."

Kane'ohe's Dean WIlson, a Castle High alum, opened with a 72 with three birdies and three bogeys. He is tied for 75th place.

Wie, who started on No. 10, eagled the par-5 fifth — hitting a 5-wood to 4 feet — and birdied three of her final four holes. She made a 15-footer on No. 6, a 4-footer on No. 8 and a 12-footer on No. 9.

"The greens were interesting," Wie said. "They are in great condition. They give character to the golf course. It is a lot of fun to play on this course."

After opening the season with a second-place finish at Turtle Bay, she tied for 57th in Phoenix and tied for 67th in the Kraft Nabisco — shooting 71-81-81-71.

"I know what I need to do out there tomorrow, so hopefully I can just go out and play my best," Wie said. "I have been just plugging away, so I can only try my best. ... I need to be more consistent. The main thing is I just want to have fun out there."