PITTSFORD, N.Y. – No matter how hard she tried, Paula Creamer couldn’t quite catch Yani Tseng. Neither could anyone else.

Tseng, the top-ranked player in the world, shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Creamer after the first round of the LPGA Championship.

The 22-year-old Tseng, already the youngest player to win three majors, made five birdies on the front nine and three more on the back to go with a pair of bogeys as she began her quest for another major title.

“I tried to put it on the fairways as much as I could,” said Tseng, who finished second to Stacy Lewis at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in March, the first major of the year. “When you put it on the fairways, you have more chance to make birdies. The second shot, I hit it very good.”

Did she ever.

Among her eight birdie putts, none was longer than the 8-footer she made at No. 15. And although Tseng hit only six of the 14 fairways, her strength allowed her to hit solid shots out of the thick rough and she was able to reach 15 of 18 greens in regulation. She birdied all four par 3s on a course that had been softened somewhat by an overnight thunderstorm.

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Another thunderstorm forced suspension of play for just over two hours with 58 players still on the course, and six players will complete their rounds today.

Angela Stanford, Meena Lee, Diana D’Alessio and Stacy Prammanasudh were 4 under, and Morgan Pressel, Stacy Lewis, Ryann O’Toole, Amy Hung, Minea Blomqvist, Jennifer Johnson and Hee Young Park were 3 under.

Defending champion Cristie Kerr, who had a light case of the flu, shot an even-par 72.

Creamer missed a chance to tie or even take the lead when she misread a 45-foot eagle putt at the par-5 17th hole and ended up three-putting for par. She then rallied with a birdie at 18, hitting a 7-iron from 150 yards within 2 feet of the pin.

“I gave myself a lot of opportunities. I made a lot of good putts,” Creamer said.

 

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PGA: Michael Bradley had a one-stroke lead when first-round play in the Travelers Championship was suspended for the day at Cromwell, Conn.

Bradley was 6 under with two holes left when play was stopped at 11:30 a.m. after heavy rain at TPC River Highlands.

“You know what, it’s unfortunate,” Bradley said. “The course is unplayable. There’s a lot of water on the course.”

Officials reopened the driving range late in the afternoon and hoped to resume play at 5:45 p.m. after emptying the bunkers of waters and using squeegees on several fairways. But another shower forced more delays and officials decided not to restart play before 7 a.m. today.

“All the good work they’d done, they lost,” said Mark Russell, the PGA Tour’s vice president of rules and competition.

Tour officials said the course received just over an inch of rain in the 61/2 hours before play was called for the day.

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Vijay Singh was in a group of seven players a shot back. Singh hit his drive into the woods on the par-4 15th hole just before the rain delay. He found the ball and was expected to take a drop when play resumes.

Only two groups finished the round. Kris Blanks shot a 68 to put him four strokes behind Bradley and Ben Curtis shot 69.

Russell said officials hope to play from 7 a.m. to sunset today and be back on schedule to finish Sunday, but the forecast called for more rain.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Henrik Stenson of Sweden shot an 8-under 64 in rainy weather to take a one-shot lead after the opening round of the BMW International Open at Munich, Germany.

Gary Boyd of England was second after taking the early clubhouse lead with a 65.

 


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