Jessica Korda birdied five of the first eight holes Thursday and finished with a 6-under 66 to take the first-round lead in the Blue Bay LPGA.

"I was hitting the ball pretty well and the putter was hot," Korda said.

The American, a two-time winner this season, birdied the first three holes and added birdies on No. 6, 8 and 14 in her bogey-free round in the inaugural event at Jian Lake Blue Bay.

"It’s amazing here," Korda said. "It’s the Hawaii of China. The course is in great shape."

Michelle Wie and Chinese star Shanshan Feng were a stroke back long with Brittany Lang, Lee-Anne Pace, Jodi Ewart-Shadoff and Caroline Masson.

Wie tied for fifth last week in South Korea in her first start since withdrawing from Evian in September after reinjuring a stress reaction in her right hand.

Third-ranked Lydia Ko had a 69.

Top-ranked Stacy Lewis and No. 2 Inbee Park are skipping the tournament.

Park will take the No. 1 spot from Lewis on Monday. Lewis has held the top position for 21 weeks. She moved to No. 1 on June 2 following her victory in the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Before that, Park was No. 1 for 59 weeks.

The tournament is the fourth stop on the six-tournament Asian Swing. The LPGA Taiwan Championship is next week, followed by the Mizuno Classic in Japan.

SOURCE: The Associated Press

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