VALLEJO, Calif., Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Michele Redman bounced back from a difficult Solheim Cup match in record-setting fashion Thursday.
Redman fired a 7-under-par 65 to break the course record and grab a one-stroke lead over Annika Sorenstam after the opening round of the Samsung World Championship.
Eleven days ago, on the final day of the Solheim Cup team competition, Redman squandered a 5-up lead with five holes to play and halved her match with Norway's Suzann Pettersen. She got a reprieve as the United States reclaimed the Cup with a three-point win.
"The way I look at it, I made a half-point there," Redman said Thursday. "If not for my 1 1/2 points that week, we don't win the Cup. I mean, (Pettersen) birdied three of the last five holes. It's not like I made bogeys coming in. Just one."
There were no bogeys Thursday as Redman matched the best opening round in tournament history and broke the Hiddebrooke Golf Club record set a year ago by Emilee Klein and Australia's Rachel Teske.
Last year, Redman struggled to an opening-round 76 at this elite field event and finished 15th.
"I think my attitude is better," she said. "Last year, I was kind of tired at this time, but the last couple of events, I just think my attitude is a ton better this year."
Despite her record-setting afternoon, Redman was just one stroke ahead of Sorenstam, who notched her third hole-in-one on the LPGA Tour as she tries to become the first player to post nine wins in a season since Nancy Lopez in 1978.
"I have a lot of motivation," said Sorenstam, who has won her last two events. "I've won eight times, but there are still a lot of records on the LPGA (Tour) that I'd like to break. I'm motivated every day I get up. Now I'm playing so well, it makes it fun also. I just want to play the best I can and see what I can do this year."
Grace Park was two shots back after a 5-under 67 while Laura Diaz, Rosie Jones and Cristie Kerr opened with 68s.
This 72-hole event features the top 17 players on the money list as well as the leading money winners from Europe (Paula Marti), Korea (Mi Na Lee) and Japan (Mikino Kubo).
Defending champion Dorothy Delasin was seven strokes off the pace after an even-par 72. Last year, she defeated Korea's Se Ri Pak and Australia's Karrie Webb by four shots.
