Taking a major lead

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Almost everything worked out for Amy Yang on Thursday in the opening round of the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Defending champion Stacy Lewis couldn’t say the same.

Yang shot a 6-under-par 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Lindsey Wright going into today’s second round. That also left Yang two shots ahead of Yani Tseng, ending the top-ranked player’s streak of eight consecutive rounds with the lead. Tseng, a five-time major champion, has won two consecutive tournaments and three of five this season, while Yang and Wright have never won on the LPGA Tour.

Yang, 22, made five birdies in seven holes around the turn at Mission Hills, using a steady putting stroke to take the early lead in the LPGA’s first major of the year.

Yang chipped in from the fringe for birdie on the 13th, highlighting a strong start at Mission Hills for the former teen sensation. She has five top-10 finishes in majors over the previous three years after winning on the European tour, but the table tennis enthusiast who idolizes fellow Korean pro Se Ri Pak hasn’t broken through to hold an LPGA Tour trophy.

“Everything was working well,” Yang said. “I think especially my putting was better than other tournaments. I had a couple of shots that went into the trees and it was hard to play, but I had some good par saves and good birdie putts.”

Lewis struggled from the start on her way to shooting a 74, which left her a shot behind Michelle Wie and eight strokes behind the leader.

The former Arkansas Razorbacks standout has spent the week fulfilling numerous public-relations du- ties as the returning Kraft Nabisco champion, and those long days might have affected her game. She reached the turn with four consecutive bogeys, slapping the head of her putter in anger after missing a putt on the eighth hole.

“People were cheering me around the whole day,” Lewis said. “I just couldn’t quite get things going.”

Wright’s 67 included five birdies on the back nine of the Dinah Shore Tournament Course and is another positive step in the 32-year-old Australian’s comeback from depression and anxiety.

After quitting golf for the final four months of last year, Wright returned with a victory in the New Zealand Women’s Open last month and followed it up with a strong start at Mission Hills.

Wright said she struggled with her game last season while with depression and anxiety, which was why she decided to end her season early.

“I just couldn’t really get through it,” she said. “It’s hard to explain other than from a physical standpoint. People think, ‘Depression, oh, just get over it.’ It really impacts you physically, and playing on this tour, grinding it out each week when you’re not sleeping and you can’t concentrate or focus, it just gets you down. It’s a bit of a nightmare.”

After getting psychological help and medication, Wright said she is planning to play golf until September.

“I’m really enjoying my golf,” Wright said. “It’s not a grind anymore. I’m actually enjoying it, the good and the bad.”

Tseng knows plenty about distractions and exhaustion after dominating the tour over the past year or so. She felt tired during practice rounds this week after driving from San Diego to Palm Springs following her victory in the Kia Classic in Carlsbad last Sunday.

Tseng also bogeyed the eighth with a feeble chip out of the greenside rough, but the Taiwanese star gathered herself for four birdies in the next six holes.

“I was really disappointed today,” Tseng said. “I don’t hit many good shots, and I don’t leave myself lots of birdie chances out there.”

PGA TOUR

Play suspended

HUMBLE, Texas — Angel Cabrera and Carl Pettersson each shot 7-under-par 65 in calm morning conditions to top the Houston Open leaderboard Thursday before first-round play was suspended because of a thunderstorm.

Only 51 players completed play before the horn to stop play sounded at 1:27 p.m. Tournament director Steve Timms said the storm dumped about 1 1/4 inches of rain on the Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course, leaving shallow ponds on many of the fairways.

Grounds crews fanned out across the course late in the afternoon, and Timms was optimistic that Redstone would be playable when the first round was scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. today.

Ricky Barnes and Jeff Maggert completed their rounds in the morning and were one shot off the lead. Brian Harman also was 6 under but had three holes left.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples and Ernie Els, who needs a victory to qualify for the Masters next week, were playing their front nines when play was suspended.

Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) was tied for 90th place after shooting a 1-over 73 with one birdie and two bogeys. Bryce Molder (Conway) completed 11 holes and was at even par.

EUROPEAN

Lawrie leads

SCIACCA, Sicily — Ireland’s Peter Lawrie shot an 8-under-par 64 at Verdura Golf and Spa Resort to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Sicilian Open.

Wales’ Jamie Donaldson, Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen and Argentina’s Tano Goya were tied for second.

John Daly (Razorbacks) opened with a 71, and Italian teenager Matteo Manassero also had a 71.