Canada's Henderson off to good start in major title defence

Defending champion Brooke Henderson and 2014 U.S. Open winner Michelle Wie overcame wind and a rocky opening nine holes Thursday, shooting 3-under 68s to stake out a perch near the top of the first-round leaderboard at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.

The second major on the women's tour is again being played at the site of previous men's majors, in this case Olympia Fields Country Club, and the tough conditions appear to favour the longer hitters. Henderson, whose older sister, Brittany is her caddie this week, won her first major at Sahalee and Wie claimed her only major at Pinehurst.

"I was able to carry a couple of fairway bunkers, which is huge, because not a lot of players are able to do that," the 19-year-old Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., said.

"It's tough out there, but you have to kind of laugh off the mistakes a little bit," Wie said. "It's a tough golf course."

Hamilton's Alena Sharp was tied for 37th at even-par 71.

Chella Choi and Amy Yang share the lead at 5-under. Choi shot a 66 in the morning, and Yang was on the 18th hole at 5-under with a chance to grab the outright lead when play was suspended at 7:01 p.m. because of dangerous weather in the area.

Brittany Altomare shot a 67, and Joanna Klatten also was 4-under with two holes left.

Lee, Oh also at 3-under

Joining Henderson and Wie at two shots off the lead were Alison Lee and Su Oh, who knocked her mentor and fellow Australian Karrie Webb out of an Olympic berth for last year's Rio Games.

Oh echoed what's fast becoming near-unanimous praise for the classic, tree-lined layout just south of Chicago, calling it "historic." But she also said the winds gusting to 16 mph were a "massive" factor in the scoring.

"We kind of anticipated it," she said. "It's the 'Windy City.' But it was like this from the very beginning and I stayed patient out there," she said. "Par is a good score."

The Women's PGA marks the start of a stretch of three majors in six weeks, which should provide some clarity at the top of the game.

So Yeon Ryu, who took over the No. 1 spot after becoming the only repeat winner through the first 16 tournaments on the LPGA Tour, leads a group of contenders just beginning the afternoon round. Ryu also won the season's first major, defeating Lexi Thompson at the ANA Inspiration.

Ariya Jutanugarn, who slipped to No. 2 in the rankings after Ryu's win, struggled to a 77 and Cristie Kerr shot 78.