RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF. (AP) - Amy Yang shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Lindsey Wright in the opening round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Thursday.
Top-ranked Yani Tseng was third at 68, ending the Taiwanese star’s streak of eight consecutive rounds with the lead. The five-time major champion has won two straight tournaments and three of five this season, while Yang and Wright have never won on the LPGA Tour.
Yang, from South Korea, made five birdies in seven holes around the turn at Mission Hills, using a steady putting stroke to take the early lead in the first major of the year.
Wright, from Australia, had five birdies on her back nine.
Michelle Wie opened with a 73, and defending champion Stacy Lewis had four consecutive bogeys in a 74.
HOUSTON OPEN
HUMBLE, Texas (AP) _ Angel Cabrera and Carl Pettersson shot 7-under 65 in calm morning conditions to top the Houston Open leaderboard before first-round play was suspended because of a thunderstorm.
Only 51 players completed play before the horn sounded at 1:27 p.m. Tournament director Steve Timms said the storm dumped about 1 1/4 inches of rain, leaving shallow ponds on many of the fairways.
Grounds crews fanned out across the course late in the afternoon, and Timms was optimistic that Redstone would be playable when the first round was scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. on Friday.
Ricky Barnes and Jeff Maggert completed their rounds in the morning and were one shot off the lead. Brian Harman also was 6 under, but had three holes left.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples and Ernie Els, who needs a victory to qualify for the Masters next week, were playing their front nines when play was suspended.
SICILIAN OPEN
SCIACCA, Sicily (AP) _ Ireland’s Peter Lawrie shot an 8-under 64 at Verdura Golf and Spa Resort to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Sicilian Open.
Wales’ Jamie Donaldson, Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen and Argentina’s Tano Goya were tied for second. John Daly opened with a 71, and Italian teenager Matteo Manassero had a 71.
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