Stars und Sternchen! » first-round lead in the Blue Bay LPGA

HAINAN ISLAND, China - Jessica Korda birdied five of the first eight holes Thursday and finished with a 6-under 66 to take the first-round lead in the Blue Bay LPGA.It was really nice, Korda said. I was hitting the ball pretty good and then I made some long putts, as well, off the green. I guess the putter was just hot on the front nine, so I took advantage of it.The 21-year-old American, a two-time winner this season, birdied the first three holes and added birdies on No. 6, 8 and 14 in her bogey-free round in the inaugural event at Jian Lake Blue Bay.Its amazing here, Korda said. Its the Hawaii of China. The course is in great shape.She made a 65-foot par putt on the par-4 10th.Highlight was No. 10, Korda said. Hit my drive way out right. Didnt hit in the fairway. Then didnt have the right club and the wind took it and I made the putt from across the whole green, from the back of the green to the front of the green.Michelle Wie and Chinese star Shanshan Feng were a stroke back long with American Brittany Lang, South Africas Lee-Anne Pace, Englands Jodi Ewart-Shadoff and Germanys Caroline Masson.Wie tied for fifth last week in South Korea in her first start since withdrawing from Evian in September after reinjuring a stress reaction in her right hand.It was fun, because I feel like the ball kind of sits up with this type of grass and I felt like I was hitting flop shots all day, Wie said. It was kind of fun. I was just blasting them away. Definitely, you have to hit to the right parts.Wie made an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that nearly circled the cup before dropping.It felt really good. I missed a short one for birdie on 15, Wie said. Missed a couple of birdie chances coming in. It always feels good when the ball kind of circles the hole 360 and ends up going in. It was a fun round today.Pace is coming off a playoff victory in Ladies European Tours South African Womens Open.Third-ranked Lydia Ko had a 69.Danielle Kang won a Buick LaCrosse with a hole-in-one on the 155-yard 17th. It was her second ace in competition this season, third overall this year and seventh in her life. She shot 68.I was pretty pumped, Kang said. My caddie had to tell me to calm down.Top-ranked Stacy Lewis and No. 2 Inbee Park are skipping the tournament.Park will take the No. 1 spot from Lewis on Monday. Lewis has held the top position for 21 weeks. She moved to No. 1 on June 2 following her victory in the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Before that, Park was No. 1 for 59 weeks.The tournament is the fourth stop on the six-tournament Asian Swing. The LPGA Taiwan Championship is next week, followed by the Mizuno Classic in Japan. 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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Despite being only two games above .500 and facing a 6.5-game deficit against first-place Detroit, the Kansas City Royals believe they have their rivals right where they want them. Judging by recent history, maybe they do. A five-run seventh inning keyed by Omar Infantes two-run single and an RBI double from Eric Hosmer enabled the Royals to avoid a demoralizing four-game sweep against the Tigers on Sunday. It also brought to mind the league-best 33-20 mark they logged last season after stumbling into the All-Star break on a five-game losing streak. "Were eight games better than we were at this time last year," manager Ned Yost said. "And were a second-half team. Weve always been a second-half team." Exactly why they seem to play better after the break, no one seems to know. "Im not sure," designated hitter Billy Butler said. "The seasons long, It wears on guys as they get older. Were young. And sometimes I think as guys get older ... I dont know." But he does know last years second-half surge makes this years challenge seem less daunting. "Were just better the second half. Its our track record and were starting to count on it." Four of the seventh-inning runs were charged to Justin Verlander (8-8), who started the inning with a two-hit shutout but loaded the bases on three straight singles. "Things were going well for us and we ran into the seventh," said Verlander, who lost for just the fifth time in 15 decisions in Kauffman Stadium. "A couple of balls fell in the right spots and Im out of the ballgame. They were able to find some spots." Since June 18 when K.C. beat the Tigers for their 10th straight win and went a season-best seven games over .500, the Royals have gone 9-14 while the Tigers went 17-6. Verlanderr gave up six hits in 6 1/3 innings, struck out three and walked one.dddddddddddd Yordano Ventura (7-7) pitched 1 2/3 innings in his first career relief appearance and got the win. He allowed one hit and struck out three for the Royals, who beat the Tigers for only the first time in seven tries this year at home. Greg Holland pitched a perfect ninth for his 25th save in 26 opportunities. After Raul Ibanez loaded the bases in the seventh with a single that snapped a 0-for-25 skid, Alcides Escobar brought in a run with a slow-rolling infield single that second baseman Ian Kinsler failed to pick up cleanly. A second run then scored on Jarrod Dysons fielders choice. Ian Krol replaced Verlander and after intentionally walking pinch hitter Salvador Perez, gave up a two-run single to Omar Infante that made it 4-2. "I waited for that pitch and made good contact," Infante said. Hosmers double stretched his career-best hitting streak to 13 games. Rajai Davis and Austin Jackson opened the third with back-to-back singles and the Tigers took a 2-0 lead on Miguel Cabreras sacrifice fly and a two-out bloop single by J.D. Martinez, which fell in between shortstop Escobar and left fielder Ibanez as Jackson came around from first. NOTES: Jackson proved a perfect leadoff hitter in this series, starting all four games with a base hit, three singles and a double. ... Martinez made two nifty running catches in the right-field corner. Martinez was also 3 for 4. ... These were the only home games for the Royals during a 19-game stretch that began on June 30 and runs through July 23. ... The Royals, Dodgers, Yankees and Mariners are the only major league teams with losing records at home and winning marks on the road. ... All nine of Detroits hits were singles. ' ' '