Australian golfer Sarah Kemp shot a four-under-par 67 but was five strokes off the lead after Friday's first round of the LPGA Classic in New Jersey.
Australian Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, the winner last year, opened with a 69, while Lindsey Wright finished with a 68.
American Jennifer Johnson, 22, matched the course record with a nine-under 62 to lead by one stroke from Japan's Haru Nomura who had a bogey-free 63 and Christina Kim who opened with a 64.
Johnson, the winner last year in Mobile, Alabama, had 10 birdies - five straight from holes 9-13 - and a bogey on the Bay Course at Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club.
World No.1 Inbee Park and fellow South Korean Na Yeon Choi shot 66.
But they're all chasing Johnson, who matched the record set by Laura Davies and Jimin Kang in 2005.
"I've been playing well the past few weeks, so I felt pretty good about my game," Johnson said. "If you just let it happen and just let a good round come together, normally it does.
"On 17, that's when I was eight-under and I was trying to beat my 63. So then, I started getting a little nervous because my goal was to get to 10-under, but I only got to nine. But when you shoot something that you've never shot before, nerves are going to happen."
Nomura had eight birdies in her career-low round.
"All in all, my putting was on, my shot was really good and the conditions were great," Nomura said. "So everything was perfect today."
Kim finished with seven birdies, including a 35-foot putt on 11 that she called "one of the longest putts I've made since the 90s".
Park, winless this season, had five birdies a week after missing the cut in Alabama to end her streak at 22 events.
Choi closed her round with an eagle on the par-5 ninth. She said she felt good vibes all day after watching Rory McIlroy shoot a nine-under 63 on day one at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.
Second-ranked Stacy Lewis and Michelle Wie shot 67 and New Zealand World No.3 Lydia Ko was another stroke back sharing 15th place on three-under. Wie, with seven top-10 finishes in 10 events this year, ended with five birdies but was disappointed that only one of them came on a par-five.
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