Aretha Pan set the early pace at the CLPGA Zhuhai Heritage with a bogey-free round as the Malaysian opened with a three-under 69 for one stroke lead at the weather-delayed tournament in Guangdong province.

Chinese amateurs Wang Xinying and Dong Linyu were equal second with compatriot Xiao Qifeng after carding rounds of two-under 70 over the Zhuhai Golden Gulf layout. Shanghai native Li Xiya (71) was two shots off the pace in fifth at the RMB200,000 China LPGA Tour event.

With a strong wind blowing over the Colin Montgomerie-designed course from early morning, play was stopped for rain at 7.30am. When play resumed at 8.50am it was stopped again at 8.57am for lightning. The tournament restarted at 9.28am.

Starting her round on the Golden Gulf back nine, the 23-year-old Pan made an impressive birdie two on her third hole (the 152-yard 12th) when she sank a 36-foot downhill putt in the stormy conditions. She then picked up further strokes on her twelfth and sixteenth holes (the third and seventh holes) to take the early lead.

"My woods and irons were very bad today. I put my ball in the bunkers at least six times and only made eight greens," lamented Pan, a fifth-year pro who has registered one top-10 finish in 40 starts on the CLPGA Tour.

"Thanks to my good chipping and putting I had a bogey-free round. I only used 23 putts, a personal best for me. My putting had been bad for a long time but I changed my putting stroke a month ago."

Wang, who tied for equal eighth last week in Wuhan, continued to impress as the 18-year-old Chongqing native battled through the stormy conditions with a round that included five birdies and three bogeys.

"The weather didn't influence me too much because I made very good preparations, like having rain clothes and dry towels. And I had a good mood today. When I was in the national team in 2014 we always trained here. I am familiar with this course," said teenager who plays for the Duke University team in North Carolina.

"I had a knee injury and didn’t practice for a month in the U.S. This is my third consecutive event in China and will provide a good indication if I have recovered or not. The last two weeks the results have been much better and I feel my game coming back."

Dong said she was a bit nervous playing in her first pro event but quickly settled down to shoot a round featuring five birdies, including three straight from the sixth hole (her 15th hole), and three bogeys.

"I fixed my mental and focused on my shots today. The two pros in my group were very nice and that made me relax," said the 19-year-old who has accepted a scholarship to play for the Texas Tech University team in Lubbock this fall.

"Before the three consecutive birdies I was one over, I didn’t think too much and made them. I feel happy now. Tomorrow I will play just as today."

Defending champion Saranporn Langkulgasettrin, who tied for 59th at last week’s US Women’s Open in Alabama, opened with a three-over 75 to sit equal 21st.

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