RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Michelle Wie was the teenage prodigy on this same desert course 14 years ago, showing off her precocious skills and a seemingly limitless future.

Now a wizened veteran of the LPGA Tour, the 27-year-old Wie saw reflections of her own journey Thursday while she played alongside 14-year-old Lucy Li, the newest wunderkind with a chance to dazzle the golf world at the ANA Inspiration.

“For sure, very mature for her age,” Wie said. “The way she played out there, her game did not seem 14. I was really impressed with her game and how she handles herself out there. She’s very calm and collected.”

Wie’s young playing partner still has things to learn from the pro, however. While Li opened with a 71, Wie shot a 4-under 68 to move one stroke behind leader Karine Icher of France before 35-mph winds shortened the opening day of competition at the first major of the year.

Four players were one shot behind Icher, including 17-year-old amateur Eun Jeong Seong, who had an early hole-in-one.

Half of the field in the tour’s first major of the year was still on the course when play was stopped. The first round will resume Friday morning when the Coachella Valley calms down.

But an early tee time allowed Wie and Li to log their first round together. Li has known about Wie for her whole life, since she grew up in the San Francisco suburbs while Wie was attending Stanford and playing on the tour.

“I was really excited to play with her,” Li said. “She’s super nice, and we just had a lot of fun today. She played really well.”

Wie was only 13 when she debuted at this tournament, then called the Kraft Nabisco Championship, in 2003 as one of the most touted teenagers in golf history. She became the youngest player ever to make an LPGA cut on the Dinah Shore Course, finishing tied for ninth in her first major.

Li was almost six months old at the time.

PGA: Rickie Fowler shot an 8-under 64 for a one-shot lead over Sung Kang after the first round of the Houston Open in Humble, Texas, on Thursday.

Fowler had his best round in six appearances at the tournament, topping a previous low score of 68. He overcame damp conditions and a chilly, breezy morning to jump to a hot start.

Fowler won last month at the Honda Classic to snap a 13-month, 25-start drought.

Fowler held a three-shot lead over Vaughn Taylor and Keegan Bradley when he finished his round in the afternoon, then Kang closed the gap with his 65. The 29-year-old South Korean missed a putt from less than 5 feet to bogey on 18.