Lewis leads in Thailand

— Stacy Lewis shot a 9-under-par 63 in the first round Thursday to take a three stroke lead at the LPGA Thailand.

The former Arkansas Razorback had an eagle on the par-4 third hole and added four more birdies on the front nine at the Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course. She had two more birdies before a bogey at No. 16.

The 2012 LPGA Tour Player of the Year birdied the last two holes to finish three strokes ahead of Karine Icher (66).

“I really started hitting the ball solid early on. Holed out for eagle on No. 3 and from there, I don’t know, that shot just really gave me the confidence to really start swinging at it,” said Lewis, a six-time LPGA winner, including the 2011 Kraft Nabisco major. “I think I missed two greens all day. I just had a ton of birdie putts and I even left a few out there.”

Inbee Park, Amy Yang, Catriona Matthew and Gerina Piller were four strokes behind. Top-ranked Yani Tseng was well off the pace at 3 over after a round with five bogeys.

Sports, Pages 23 on 02/22/2013

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