Scotland's Mhairi McKay equalled her career best round of eight under par 63 to lead the first round of the Michelob Ultra Open by a shot at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Still seeking a first win in 10 years on the US-based LPGA Tour, McKay had a faultless round of eight birdies - four in each half - to match the Kingsmill course record and finish one ahead of former world number one Annika Sorenstam and South Korea's Sun Young Yoo.
"I feel great. Today I was just so calm and relaxed on the golf course. It was just perfect," said the 33-year-old after equalling the 63 she shot in the 2001 Wendy's Championship for Children in Ohio.
McKay made a flying visit home to play in last week's Ladies' Scottish Open at the Carrick, Loch Lomond, and she gave credit to her older brother, Kenny, for the upturn in form that helped her match the Kingsmill course record.
"Kenny caddied for me in Scotland," she explained. "He suggested that I focus on staying down a bit lower through the putts and it made a big difference. It certainly worked today."
McKay's only win came in the 2003 Australian Women's Open - she has had five second places on the LPGA Tour.
In the warm, sunny conditions, she made short birdie putts at the third, sixth, seventh and eighth to reach the turn in four under 32. She then added more from the 25-foot range at the 11th and 14th before again hitting it close for her final two birdies at the 15th and 18th.
"I thought I might get a bit nervous towards the end, but I just kept the round going. It was actually getting pretty windy for the last four holes, so I was really pleased to pick up a couple of shots."
Sorenstam, aiming for her third win of the year, had seven birdies for her 64, while Mexico's world No.1 Lorena Ochoa, with four wins from her last five tournaments, had a 65 and was in a share of fourth place.
Scot Janice Moodie was also well-placed on 66, while England's Karen Stupples and Becky Morgan, the only Welsh player in the field, were both on 67.
Michelle Wie's faltering comeback from wrist problems continued with a round of 75 that left her outside the top 100 and needing an improvement to make the cut. Defending champion Suzann Pettersen, from Norway, opened with a level par 71
On a day of incredibly low scoring, Canadian No.1 Alena Sharp was just inside the top 60 after a one under 70, while compatriot Lorie Kane was a shot back on 71.
Collated first-round scores (USA unless stated, par 71):
63 Mhairi McKay
64 Sun Young Yoo (Kor), Annika Sorenstam (Swe)
65 Lorena Ochoa (Mex), Diana D'Alessio
66 Stacy Prammanasudh, Eun Hee Ji (Kor), Song-Hee Kim (Kor), Candie Kung (Tai), Hee Young Park (Kor), Janice Moodie
67 Karen Stupples, Meena Lee (Kor), In-Bee Park (Kor), Jimin Kang (Kor), Mikaela Parmlid (Swe), Becky Morgan, Helen Alfredsson (Swe), Jeong Jang (Kor)
68 Kelli Kuehne, Juli Inkster, Beth Bader, Cristie Kerr, Kristy McPherson, Su A Kim, Maria Hjorth (Swe), Russamee Gulyanamitta (Tha), Sandra Gal (Ger), Meredith Duncan, Dina Ammaccapane, Kris Tamulis, Jee Young Lee (Kor), Soo-Yun Kang (Kor), Carolina Llano (Col)
69 Jill McGill, Jamie Hullett, Miriam Nagl (Ger), Pat Hurst, Katie Futcher, Leta Lindley, Marisa Baena, Sung Ah Yim (Kor), Louise Friberg (Swe), Mi-Hyun Kim (Kor), Yu Ping Lin (Tai), Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor), Sophie Giquel (Fra), Angela Stanford, Emily Bastel, Allison Fouch, Hwa seon Lee (Kor), Marcy Hart, Catriona Matthew, Nicole Perrot (Chi), Ji-Young Oh (Kor), Natalie Gulbis, Na Yeon Choi (Kor), Erica Blasberg
70 Minea Blomqvist (Fin), Heather Young, Karrie Webb (Aus), Courtney Ellenbogen, Christina Kim, Ya-Ni Tseng (Kor), Sherri Turner, Teresa Lu (Tai), Momoko Ueda (Jpn), Alena Sharp, Laura Diaz, Sarah Kemp (Aus), Danielle Downey, Katherine Hull (Aus), Hye Jung Choi (Kor)
71 Laura Davies, Jennifer Rosales (Phi), Shi Hyun Ahn (Kor), Reilley Rankin, Lindsey Wright (Aus), Suzann Pettersen (Nor), Brittany Lang, Seo-Jae Lee, Karine Icher (Fra), Lorie Kane (Kor), Paula Creamer, Jackie Gallagher-Smith, Ai Miyazato (Jpn), Rachel Hetherington (Aus), Kate Golden, Carin Koch (Swe), Sophie Gustafson (Swe)
72 Linda Wessberg (Swe), Young-A Yang (Kor), Na On Min (Jpn), In Kyung Kim (Kor), Jin Joo Hong (Kor), Morgan Pressel, Jane Park, Michele Redman, Liz Janangelo, Nancy Scranton, Julieta Granada (Par), Michelle Ellis, Mollie Fankhauser, Nicole Castrale
73 Cindy Rarick, Giulia Sergas (Ita), Becky Lucidi, Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (Fra), Meaghan Francella, Meg Mallon, Amy Hung (Tha), Wendy Ward
74 Wendy Doolan (Aus), Johanna Head, Il Mi Chung (Kor), Young Kim (Kor), Brittany Lincicome, Hee-Won Han (Kor), Becky Iverson, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, Gloria Park (Kor), Carri Wood, Silvia Cavalleri (Ita), Moira Dunn, Shanshan Feng (Chn)
75 Brandie Burton, Kim Hall, Liselotte Neumann (Swe), Dorothy Delasin, Candy Hannemann, Michelle null Wie, Karin Sjodin (Swe), Sherri Steinhauer, Heather Daly-Donofrio
76 Michelle McGann, Seol-An Jeon (Kor), Angela Park, Eva Dahllof (Swe), Charlotte Mayorkas
78 Kris Tschetter
79 Tracy Hanson
80 Grace Park (Kor)
84 Sarah Turcotte
86 Danielle Ammaccapane
OCHOA WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT TITLE
Skins 2nd-round pick oversleeps, misses practice
Walk in the park for VfB
NOCERA’S TWO TOO GOOD
