McKay leads with opening 65

Playing her first five holes in 5-under par, Mhairi McKay shot a 65 to take a one-stroke lead over local favorite Rosie Jones through Friday's opening round of the Wendy's Championship for Children.

Starting her afternoon round on the 10th tee, McKay parred the first hole and then had a birdie, birdie, eagle and birdie on the next four holes to grab a share of the lead with Futures Tour veteran Michele Vinieratos.

McKay rolled in a 22-foot birdie putt at No. 11, hit a sand wedge to 10 feet at No. 12 and her 3-wood second shot on the par-5 13th came to rest 10 feet from the hole. After making the eagle putt, she hit a lob wedge to 15 feet on the next hole for a birdie.

She barely missed birdie putts on the next three holes.

Playing steady if unspectacular golf on the back nine in oppressive heat and humidity, she added two more birdies for a 7-under 65 that matched her low round on the LPGA Tour this year.

Many of the top players skipped the Wendy's tournament to prepare for next week's final major championship of the year, the Weetabix Women's British Open. The missing players included seven of the Tour's top 10 money-winners.

McKay, a native of Scotland, has been a member at Turnberry -- site of the Open -- since she was 10. LPGA rules prevent players from practicing on a course until the Sunday before the tournament begins, so even if she had flown overseas a week early she still couldn't have played on her home course.

In addition to her affection for a local family she stays with while playing in the Wendy's tournament, that was enough to keep McKay in Ohio instead of battling the elements in Scotland.

As it turned out, the players already had to contend with temperatures near 100 degrees with high humidity and little wind.

A former Ohio State golfer, Jones was tied for the lead with McKay before bogeying her 15th hole of the day. Still fighting a lingering head cold that knocked her out of a pro-am Thursday, Jones had difficulty remembering any of the shots or distances from her round.

She closed her round by blasting out of a greenside bunker to 5 feet on the par-5 ninth hole, then hitting the birdie putt to move into second place by herself.

Vinieratos, playing in the third group off the tee in the morning, posted her lowest LPGA round with seven birdies and two bogeys. One of her Futures wins came just a few miles up the road at Bent Tree in 1994.

The group at 4-under 68 included Michele Redman, Tina Barrett, 2000 Wendy's winner Lorie Kane and Mi Hyun Kim. Kim won the LPGA stop in Youngstown two weeks ago.

Twelve-year-old amateur Michelle Wie shot a 77. Regardless of whether she makes the 36-hole cut, Wie said she plans to make a trip to Disney World later this month before returning to Honolulu to start eighth grade.

Defending champion Wendy Ward shot a 72, one shot better than reigning U.S. Open champion Juli Inkster's 73.

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