VIENNA, Ohio (AP) – Annika Sorenstam didn’t need a practice round to recognize a swamped golf course.

Seeking her third win in a row on tour, Sorenstam shot a 1-under-par 71 Friday and was three shots behind leader Minny Yeo after the opening round of the rain-delayed Giant Eagle LPGA Classic.

“It was muddy. I mean, it’s soaking wet,” Sorenstam said, looking down at the thick, brown mud that had coated her shoes. “If you look at the caddies’ and the players’ feet – it’s unbelievable how muddy it is.”

Squaw Creek Country Club might have to be renamed Squall Creek after it was pounded by more than 2 inches of rain this week.

The field of 144 was allowed to lift, clean and place, but it was still hard to avoid the mini-ponds that cropped up in low-lying areas. Pat Hurst, who shot a 69, said she was forced to chip the ball twice because she couldn’t putt through standing water on the green.

Yeo was an unlikely first-round leader.

The Korean has never finished in the top 30 in four years on the LPGA Tour. This season she has missed the cut in eight tournaments.

, withdrew after the opening round last week.

Yet she matched her career best Friday with a 68 that included four birdies in a five-hole span on the front side. She said she was calmed by a call to her husband in California.

“We read the Bible and we talked about why I’ve been struggling,” Yeo said. “My husband said, ‘You’ve got the game but you’re too afraid of messing it up.’ So I came out today and I just had fun.”

Joining Hurst at 69 were Patti Rizzo, Liz Earley, Michelle McGann, Catrin Nilsmark, Marisa Baena, Eva Dahllof and Kristal Parker-Manzo.

Rizzo has not played much on tour the past few years while she raises her two children. Playing in one of the first groups off the tee – before the course had a chance to drain – she had three birdies and no bogeys, holing a 42-foot birdie putt at the ninth hole.

Nilsmark was battling back pain but hoped she could still earn a spot in the Women’s U.S. Open in two weeks at Pumpkin Ridge. With a win, she would gain an automatic spot and wouldn’t have to play 36 holes in a sectional qualifier on Tuesday.

McGann jumped into contention with an eagle 3 at the 479-yard fifth hole. Her drive left her 217 yards to the pin and she hit a 5-wood into the wind that ended up a foot from the cup.

“You make eagle and that always replaces a couple of mistakes,” McGann said.

Hurst lost in a playoff to Dorothy Delasin in 2000 when the tournament was played at Avalon Lakes.

Grace Park, second on the money list to Sorenstam after losing to her in a playoff last week, shot a 71.

Defending champion Mi Hyun Kim, who didn’t practice because of headaches and nausea, shot a 73. Se Ri Pak, the 1998 Giant Eagle winner, was in the same threesome with Sorenstam and posted a 72.

Because of the conditions, the course hasn’t been mowed.

“The greens were unbelievably slow,” Pak said. “I’ve never played that slow of greens ever.”

AP-ES-06-13-03 2041EDT