SA golfer Lee-Anne Pace takes lead at Women's PGA Championship

South African veteran Lee-Anne Pace fired four of her five birdies on the back nine at Baltusrol on Thursday to grab a one-shot lead in the Women's PGA Championship.

Pace's strong finish on the demanding layout in Springfield, New Jersey, put her one in front of Chinese duo Lin Xiyu and Yin Ruoning and Canadian Brooke Henderson, who shared second place a stroke ahead of Thailand's Wichanee Meechai.

"I played very well today," said the 42-year-old Pace, who claimed her lone LPGA tour title in 2014.

"Obviously I'm very happy. No bogeys, which is awesome. Putted really well, very happy with the round," added Pace, whose best finish in a major was a tie for sixth in the Evian Championship in 2015.

Pace was concentrating this season on the Ladies European Tour - where she's an 11-time winner - before heading stateside for the ShopRite Classic earlier this month.

She took a conservative approach and it paid off on a course where only 16 players broke par.

"We kept it pretty simple," she said. "Most of the greens we went for the middle, didn't really attack too many pins. The putter worked, which was awesome. Hit my driver pretty straight, as well."

Lee-Anne Pace tops the leaderboard with several chasing. Here's how things sit heading into Round 2.@ROLEX | #ROLEX pic.twitter.com/m7A5YXFrJO

Darkness was closing in as Pace warmed up. She had back-to-back birdies at 11 and 12, added another at 15 and finally birdied 18.

"At my age, the darkness isn't your friend. But, like I said, I felt very comfortable on the greens. I made a really good putt on 15, massive slopey, very quick putt. That was a huge bonus."

She got up and down from a bunker at 16 then reached the green at the par-five 18th in two and for another birdie.

Henderson, who won