Lee leads Asian assault at Arkansas

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South Korea's Lee Seon Hwa has led another Asian assault on the LPGA Tour by firing an eight-under 64 for a two-shot lead after the first round of the Arkansas Championship.

Lee rolled in nine birdies and is the leader in the clubhouse after a rain-delayed first round at the Pinnacle Country Club.

"I hit pretty good today," the 22-year-old Lee said. "I mean, I didn't miss any fairways and had a pretty solid iron round.

"I hit a lot of birdies because of my irons, actually made nine birdies today. So that was really, really good."

The first round was called due to darkness because of a five-hour delay which pushed back tee times. First-round play will resume early Saturday followed immediately by the second round of the 54-hole event.

The 2006 LPGA rookie of the year, Lee has two career USLPGA Tour victories, winning once in each of the past two seasons.

"I was just pretty solid today and very consistent with every shot," said Lee.

South Korea's HJ Choi is two shots back reaching the clubhouse with a 66 while Japan's Ai Miyazato and South Korean Eun-Hee Ji fired 67s. The top five players Friday are all Asian.

China's Feng Shanshan and South Korean Il Mi Chung are part of a group of five players who shot three-under 69, five shots back of Lee.

"I think this golf course is good for the Korean players because it is not long and the greens are really soft this week," Lee said. "So I think the Korean players are really consistent. That's why a lot of the Korean players played well today and maybe this week too."

Lee, of Chonan, said she waited out the delay in her hotel room watching South Korean shows on her computer.

"My caddie was here very early in the morning and he called told me there was a three-hour delay," she said. "Then a five-hour delay. So I just stayed at the hotel watching TV and just relaxed."

Choi said the South Korean players are competitive by nature and that explains some of the Asian domination on the women's tour this year.

"There is a competitive side," said Choi, who made seven birdies on Friday.

It is the second year in a row the tournament has been affected by bad weather.

There is no defending champion at this year's Arkansas event because heavy rains washed out the final two rounds of the 2007 tournament.

American Stacy Lewis fired an opening round seven-under 65 before the storms made the course unplayable and organisers determined no winner would be declared.