Annika Sorenstam fired an 11-under-par 61, the best score in LPGA history on a par-72 course and the lowest on the tour this year, to take a two-shot lead over Michelle McGann after the opening round of the Sara Lee Classic today.

Sorenstam shot a 7-under-par 29 on the back nine of the 6,242-yard Hermitage Golf Course. That included one stretch of four straight birdies and another of three straight. Her score of 61 broke the Sara Lee tournament record by two strokes.

"I was just trying to stay calm out there," said Sorenstam, the Swede who has not won this year despite two second-place and two third-place finishes. "It felt like things were going my way. I was just aiming at the fairways and the pins.

"I didn't want to get too excited. You never know what can happen out there. I didn't want to run up to the green or anything."

Sorenstam's 61 tied Se Ri Pak's 1998 record for the lowest LPGA score ever, but Pak's round was on a par-71 course in the Jamie Farr Classic. The 11-under-par also tied Vicki Fergon's 1984 San Jose Classic mark. Fergon's score, however, was a 62 on a par-73 course.

Scoring conditions were ideal. Rain had slowed the greens considerably Thursday, but the weather for Friday's opening round was cloudy and cool with almost no wind. Over half of the players in the field of 144 finished under par.

McGann, whose first tournament win came in the 1995 Sara Lee Classic, duplicated Sorenstam's feat by shooting 7-under-par on the back nine. The only blemish on McGann's scorecard was a bogey on the eighth hole, which she three-putted.

"Overall, I was very consistent," said McGann, whose 63 was a career best. "I hit the ball well off the tee. My whole objective today was to be aggressive. I'm trying to get my confidence back."

Dale Eggeling, who was playing in Sorenstam's group, was alone in third place at 65. She actually led Sorenstam at the turn by a stroke, but that was before Sorenstam scorched the back nine.

Michele Redman and Kris Tschetter were in a group of five players tied at 66.

"I've been playing really good, I've been really consistent," said Redman, who birdied her first three holes.

Tschetter also carded three consecutive birdies.

"I've been hitting the ball real well," she said. "Today, I made some good putts."

Nashville resident Kim Williams, whose best finish was a playoff loss in the inaugural Sara Lee Classic in 1988, led after the morning round with a 67.

"I'd take any win, anywhere," she said. "But it would have extra meaning at home."

Tour money-leader Karrie Webb struggled with her putting and shot an even-par 72.

"I hit the ball pretty good. I hit 17 greens, and I really can't putt on these greens," she said. "They're just really too slow for me. My last thought every time I putt is to make sure I get it to the hole. I like to putt on fairly fast greens. I couldn't get anything on line."

Defending champion Barb Mucha also shot 72.

Rachel Hetherington, who won two of the last three tournaments, shot a 74 after carding a 75 in the final round last week.