Brooke Henderson 1 shot back of lead after 1st round of Women's PGA Championship

Lee-Anne Pace of South Africa made a two-putt birdie on the final hole in fading daylight for a 5-under 66 and the first-round lead Thursday in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Baltusrol in Springfield, N.J.

Two-time major winner Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Ruoning Yin and Xiyi Lin of China were a shot back as Baltusrol's historic Lower Course yielded 16 under-par rounds to the field of 156 players.

The 42-year-old Pace won her lone LPGA Tour title in 2014 in China. She's playing in her second event in the United States this year.

Wichanee Meechair of Thailand was alone at 68. Leona Maguire of Ireland, the winner last week in Michigan, was at 69 with Ayaka Furue and Yuka Saso of Japan, Jenny Shin of South Korea, Celine Borge of Norway and Esther Henseleit of Germany.

WATCH | Henderson shoots 4-under 67 in 1st round:

Rose Zhang, the two-time NCAA individual champion at Stanford who became the first player in 72 years to win an LPGA Tour event in her pro debut this month at nearby Liberty National, opened with a 70.

Teeing off at 2:28 p.m., Pace made seven pars to start her round, then finished with five birdies in her final 11 holes, hitting the par-5 18th in two and getting down in two. She also made a key par save from the bunker at the par-3 16th.

Henderson, who won this event event in 2016 and the Evian last year for her majors, had a bogey and five birdies, the last from about 35 feet on the ninth hole, her final one.

The 20-year-old Yin, who won this year in Los Angeles, had two birdies and an eagle in a bogeyless round. Lin, who finished third last week, had four birdies in search of her first win on tour. The 27-year-old lost in a playoff earlier this year in California.

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