SOUTHPORT, England — Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie had trouble with the strong wind and heavy rains at the Women's British Open. Jeong Jang sailed right through with a 4-under-par 68 yesterday and the first-round lead.

Jang, a South Korean looking for her first win in 5 1/2 years on the LPGA Tour, had an eagle and four birdies at Royal Birkdale for a one-shot lead over 2000 champion Sophie Gustafson.

Sorenstam's 1-over 73 left her five shots back in her bid for a 10th major title and third of the season, while Wie shot a 75 on her first visit to this regular stop on the men's British Open rotation.

Rain battered the course so intently, that play had to be halted for almost an hour because one deluge left some of the greens flooded. The delay forced play to be suspended because of darkness, with 33 players having to complete their first rounds this morning.

Wie, the 15-year-old amateur from Honolulu, said the conditions were the hardest she has ever endured.

"I've played in rain before. I've played in the wind before. I played when it was cold before," she said. "But all put together was really hectic. It's so hard to get a rhythm out there. I'm kind of glad I did this. It's the first time I played in the British Open and I felt like I got the whole package."

Wie finished with two birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey and was in a nine-way tie for 32nd at 3-over in the 148-player field.

"I felt like I positioned myself very well, like from the tee to the fairway, but I think that I could have played a little bit — well, not smarter, but better, making more putts and stuff like that," Wie said. "But, you know, I mean, the way the conditions were today, I guess I played OK, but not really."

Wie made the turn at 1-over, and had just hit her tee shot at the par-4 11th when officials stopped play.

She took refuge in a car, but the heater didn't work for a while and "we were really shivering," she said.

Once play resumed, Wie found that her ball had settled in a pot bunker.

"That was extra special," she said, with a touch of sarcasm.

A bogey dropped Wie to 2-over, but she birdied the par-3 12th (sinking a long putt) before taking a double bogey on the par-4 13th when she three-putted after missing the green when her 7-iron approach got caught up in the wind.

Wie parred the final five holes, missing birdie opportunities on the last four.

"I just missed a lot of crucial putts out there today," she said. "I don't think that I'm that far behind with the conditions being like this. But I have three more days to go, and you know, we're not finished yet."

Sorenstam also acknowledged that "there is a long way to go."

One under after 10 holes, she bogeyed 12 and 13 before closing with pars the rest of the way.

"It was obviously very, very difficult today — rainy, wet and cold. We had it all," Sorenstam said. "I think I left a few (putts) out there. I wish I would have made them."

Jang, one of 19 South Koreans in a field of 150, also found the conditions tough but managed to master the driving rain.

"The course is really great but it is windy so that makes it hard," said Jang, who sank a 25-foot putt for eagle at No. 6.

Jang won titles in her homeland as an amateur before qualifying for the American LPGA Tour. Despite nine top 10 finishes last year and a tie for second at the Sybase Classic in May, she is still searching for her first victory.

Gustafson, who won the 2000 title on the same Royal Birkdale links before the tournament became a major, had an inauspicious start when she double bogeyed the first hole. But she rebounded with seven birdies, including three of the last four holes.

She is one stroke ahead of Nicole Perrot of Chile, who shot a 2-under 70.

Se Ri Pak's British Open lasted just eight holes before the former champion walked off the course with a finger injury at 6-over par. Holder of four majors including a triumph at Sunningdale four years ago, Pak told officials she injured her right index finger trying to get out of the rough and afterward had problems holding the club.

The LPGA Web site contributed to this report.