THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Peiyun Chien shot a 5-under 67 on a rainy Thursday in the transplanted Chevron Championship to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year.
Unable to find a sponsor willing to add to the half-century run at Mission Hills, the tournament — best known as the Dinah Shore — bolted the California desert for the woods of suburban Houston under a six-year deal with Chevron.
The 32-year-old Chien, who is from Taiwan, had six birdies — including four in a five-hole span on Nos. 4-8 — at The Club at Carlton Woods.
Second-ranked Nelly Korda was among six players and three Americans tied for second at 68. Korda is fully healthy after missing four months and a lot of momentum last year with a blood clot in her arm that required surgery.
She had three bogeys but made up for it with seven birdies and four in her last six holes, including the last two.
“I took advantage of the par 5s today,” she said. “I think I birdied them all, so that was important, as I’m a bit of a longer hitter. Overall, I played pretty well. It was nice to finish the way I did with just a tap-in birdie.”
Chien finished fourth in her last tournament after not making the cut in the previous two.
“I hit a really good wedge shot on 4 and then I hit a 6-foot putt, and the next hole I made a 30-foot birdie,” she said. “Then the next hole I hit a 9-iron to the green, hit it to like 6 feet and made another good putt.”
The weather was clear for most of the morning, but light to heavy rain fell through a big chunk of the afternoon. Play continued through the rain until being suspended at 3:38 p.m. for almost an hour because of thunderstorms in the area.
Australian Stephanie Kyriacou also tied for second after sinking an eagle on the 18th hole. She was among the group who played in the afternoon and said the rain made the greens softer.
Americans Marina Alex and Lilia Vu also shot 68. Alex thought the change in venue created an interesting dynamic for the tournament.
Vu, who started on the back nine, had a chance to move into a tie for the lead after hitting an eagle on the eighth hole. But her putt for birdie on her last hole was off and she settled for par to tie for second.
“You really have to focus on each shot,” she said. “You can’t really get ahead of yourself because it’s quite a demanding golf course.”
Japan’s Ayaka Furue and South Korea’s Chella Choi both had five birdies to round out the group tied for second place.
