Yesterday, Beth Daniel made sure the older set got some attention.

Daniel shot a 10-under 62 to take a four-stroke lead after the first round of the LPGA Safeway Classic and tie the course record set by defending champion Annika Sorenstam.

Daniel, who this year became the oldest player to win on the LPGA Tour, birdied seven of the last nine holes at the 6,327-yard Columbia Edgewater Country Club course.

Grace Park and Cristie Kerr were tied for second at 66, while Sorenstam, who played in the same threesome as Daniel, was another stroke back.

"Everything just went right for me," said Daniel, who won the Canadian Women's Open in July at age 46 for her 33rd career title and first since 1995.

Daniel's play overshadowed the youngest player at the tournament, 13-year-old Michelle Wie. The 6-footer from Honolulu, who failed to make the cut last week playing with the men at the Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour, opened with a 3-under 69 yesterday.

When asked whether she got nervous, Wie responded with a laugh and a smile.

"I only get nervous when I'm taking tests," the freshman from Punahou School said.

Wie had nines of 35-34, hitting nine fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation with only 27 putts.

Wie is playing in her sixth tournament of the year against women professionals.

BETH DANIEL

After a two-week break following this tournament, Wie will go to South Korea for the Sports Today CJ Nine Bridges Classic, her final LPGA Tour event of the year.

Daniel, an LPGA Hall of Famer, admitted her latest impressive feat came about 15 years after she first planned to retire.

"I came out on tour when I was 22 and I thought I'd play eight to 10 years and I'd retire, that's how naive I was," Daniel said.

Even though it takes her longer to prepare and recover from daily play, including a couple of hours before every round spent on fitness training, she says she plans to keep going as long as she's playing well.

"I think I've been pretty competitive," she said. "But it's harder now because I'm older. The thing is, I'm playing well enough, it would almost be silly to retire."

Daniel didn't have to putt from farther than 14 feet on her last four birdies of the round. Her first one of the day was a 36-footer on No. 6.

It was her last putt on the 383-yard closing hole that gave her the most satisfaction, with Sorenstam watching Daniel tie the record she set last year.

"That last one was really sweet," Daniel said.

The 10-under round tied a personal best that Daniel had achieved only twice before, once at a tournament in Austin, Texas, and once playing with her father.