Rain delayed the start of the 54-hole event for 4½ hours Friday, leaving half the 144-player field to return early Saturday to finish the first round. Lewis managed to complete hers in 7 under par, but play was halted again at around 11 a.m. local time.

Lewis is trying to become the first amateur to win an LPGA tournament since JoAnne Carner in 1969. Lewis plays college golf at nearby Arkansas. That was an advantage during Friday's delay.

"I actually didn't even come up here until about 3 o'clock," Lewis said Friday. "Just stayed at home, hung out with my friends. It was nice to have people to hang out with."

Kristy McPherson, Katherine Hull and Teresa Lu all shot 66 Friday on the 6,238-yard Pinnacle Country Club course. Juli Inkster and Sherri Turner were another stroke behind Saturday at 67, and Jin Young Pak was at 5 under with four holes remaining in her first round.

The top three money earners this year on the LPGA Tour — Lorena Ochoa, Suzann Pettersen and Paula Creamer — are absent from this event, and No. 4 Mi Hyun Kim withdrew.

U.S. Women's Open champion Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis were among several who finished the first round at 69. Maria Hjorth and Beth Bader both shot 68, and Linda Wessberg was with them at 4 under with one hole remaining in her first round.