Suzann Pettersen & Meena Lee share lead - Hana Bank KOLON Championship 2007

Despite wind gusts up to 20 mph, Suzann Pettersen birdied the final two holes for a 3-under 69 Friday and a share of the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour's Hana Bank KOLON Championship.

Seeking her fourth LPGA Tour victory and fifth overall title of the year, Pettersen had five birdies in a bogey-free back nine after making the turn in 2 over on the soggy Mauna Ocean course. South Korea's Meena Lee also shot a 69 on the overcast day with temperatures in the 50s.

"It was very difficult with the wind gusting around, hard to get the right club without the wind changing on you," Pettersen said. "You have to be on the right parts of the green. Some of the par 5s are reachable, so you try to take advantage. I'm very happy with 3 under."

Catriona Matthew was two strokes back at 71 along with Jeong Jang, Hyun-Hee Moon and Joo Mi Kim. Lorena Ochoa topped a group at 72 that included South Korean star Se Ri Pak and Seon Hwa Lee and Rachel Hetherington.

U.S. Women's Open champion Cristie Kerr (75), fellow U.S. star Natalie Gulbis (76) and defending champion Jin Joo Hong (81) also struggled in the wind.

Meena Lee had four birdies and one bogey in the tricky conditions.

"It wasn't in one direction," the two-time tour winner said. "There were some errors in my communication with my caddie because the wind blew in all directions."

Pettersen, after dropping three strokes with a double bogey on the par-5 eighth and a bogey on the par-4 ninth, two-putted from 20 feet for birdie on the 500-yard, par-5 10th. She hit a wedge to 3 feet on the 122-yard 11th to get back to even par.

She made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th, holed a 15-footer on the par-4 17th and closed with a 12-footer on the par-4 18th.

"I just enjoy playing here," Pettersen said. "We have so many Koreans on our tour and it's nice to get to know their culture. I think it's very good for women's golf to showcase itself everywhere and give the crowds and the fans some good golf to watch."

The pace of play was extremely slow in the difficult conditions, with the players taking nearly six hours to complete their rounds.

Sidelined for eight months in 2005 by a career-threatening ruptured disk in her back, Pettersen has had a breakthrough season, highlighted by her first major title in the McDonald's LPGA Championship in June.

The long-hitter from Norway also won the Michelob Ultra Open in May for her first LPGA Tour victory, took the European tour's SAS Masters in August in Norway and beat top-ranked Ochoa two weeks ago in a playoff in the Longs Drugs Challenge.

Ochoa, the Mexican star who wrapped up her second straight player of the year award last week with a victory in the Samsung World Championship, leads the tour with seven victories and has earned a record $3,318,421 this year.

Pak won the inaugural tournament in 2002 at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island.

"It was difficult," Pak said. "Although, I knew there will be much wind, there was too much wind. There's nothing different from the past. Since the grass was very wet, there were different challenges on the course, which I had a hard time with."

Christina Kim had a complete meltdown, shooting an 81 after a strong start.

The American birdied three of her first eight holes, then dropped 12 strokes on the next six holes. She finished her first nine with a bogey on the par-4 18th, made a triple bogey on the par-4 first, took 11 strokes to complete the par-5 third and made a double bogey on the par-4 fifth.

On the 11th, she hit her second shot long and rolled her birdie putt off the green. She then chipped several times up the slope, only to have the ball roll back down.