PLAINFIELD, Mich. — After dangerous weather pushed tee times back 40 minutes, the 10th Meijer LPGA Classic kicked off at Blythefield Country Club.
The event features the top three players in the Rolex Women's Golf Rankings: No.1 Nelly Korda, No.2 Lilia Vu, and No. 3 Celine Boutier.
At the end of round one, it is No. 18-ranked Alison Lee leading the pack. Lee is 7-under par after an eagle on the 17th hole. She's followed by a seven-way tie for second at 5-under par.
"I feel like my biggest strength today was definitely my putter," Lee said following her first round. "Even I made a lot of really, really good par saves, and a lot of good birdies...overall really happy and pleasantly surprised about my round today."
"Definitely in the afternoon sometimes it can get a little tough to read putts, especially in the wind today. You just got to trust it...even though you don't feel confident you have to push through it. I feel like I did that really well today."
The day was headlined by the pairing of world no. 1 Nelly Korda, defending Meijer LPGA Classic champion Leona Maguire, and 13-time LPGA Tour winner Brooke Henderson, none of which finished the day in the top-ten.
Korda, at 5-over par, is tied for the second-worst score of the day.
The leaderboard is filled with surprise standouts including 28-year-old Daniela Darquea who entered today's tournament with only one career professional win.
Darquea sits tied for second at 5-under par.
"I'm pretty happy with my round. Very happy the way I handled it mentally, so that was good," Darquea said after her first round.
"I feel like obviously in the past years I've seen so many birdies out here. There is a lot of opportunities and obviously that motivates me for the next days."
Darquea experienced an unusual start to her round. After teeing off at 7:15 a.m., Darquea's group, which included Jing Yan and Mina Harigare, had play suspended due to dangerous weather.
"Obviously I wanted to keep going. You want the momentum to keep going. I started with a birdie and I think that little break gave me a little bit of a good," Darquea said. "I paced myself pretty good at that point. I had some chances; I made the putts. Just worked out."
Despite the lack of star power on the leaderboard, fans were once again excited with the tournament both on and off the green.
"The course is in such great shape. They draw all the big players. It's just amazing of what Meijer and Simply Give give back to the community," said Ontario, Canada resident Jan Plumstead.
Plumstead is a frequent visitor to the Meijer Classic, mainly to support fellow Canadian, Brooke Henderson.
"If she's within driving distance, we try to go."
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Watch 13 ON YOUR SIDE for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV and on your phone.