Lee Mi-hyang leads Meijer LPGA in bid to break title drought

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Lee Mi-hyang, chasing a first victory in eight years, fired an eagle and six birdies in an eight-under-par 64 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic, in Belmont, Michigan.

The 32-year-old South Korean said hitting 11 of 13 fairways, solid iron play and a helpful change to her putting stroke added up a "perfect" day at Blythefield Country Club, where she had a one-stroke first-round lead over Australian Grace Kim.

She charged up the leaderboard with four straight birdies from the fifth through the eighth holes, then eagled the 10th before birdies at 14 and 17.

"It was a lucky day," said Lee, who hit 11 of 13 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation.

She surprised herself at the 10th, where despite a good drive she didn't expect to hit the green with her second shot.

"But it was a great line and good hit, the three-wood, and I made the green, so it was almost 24 feet right-to-left eagle putt.

"Then I didn't expect to make it, just trying to make more distance control of the putt, but it was working," said Lee, who claimed the second of her two LPGA titles at the Ladies Scottish Open in 2017.

Kim had an eagle and six birdies with one bogey in her seven-under 65 to find herself in contention again at Blythefield -- where she shared the second-round lead last year and took a five-shot lead into the final round but fell into a playoff that was won by Lilia Vu.

Kim said her three prior appearances in the event have given her confidence on the greens, but it was a pair of chip-ins that highlighted her round.

The first was for an eagle at the 10th and the second for birdie at 11.

"That was a good start to the back nine," said Kim, who is playing without regular caddie Drew Ernst, who is taking the week off to welcome the birth of his first child.

Australian Karis Davidson had six birdies in a six-under 66 to lead a trio sharing third place. Paraguay's Sofia Garcia and Japan's Akie Iwai each had seven birdies with one bogey.

Vu, whose sensational triumph last year marked her return to action after missing most of the season with a back injury, got off to a disappointing start in her title defense, finishing with a double bogey and five bogeys with just two birdies in her five-over 77.