Mar 17, 2016 3 min read

PHOENIX – Mi Hyang Lee shot a tournament-record 10-under 62 on Thursday in the JTBC Founders Cup after playing her first nine holes in 9 under.

On a day when fellow South Korean player Se Ri Pak announced she will retire at the end of the season, Lee threatened to shoot the second 59 in LPGA Tour history after opening with an eagle and seven birdies on the back nine.

Needing to play the front nine in 4 under to break 60, Lee made only one more birdie – on the par-5 fifth.

Waynesburg’s Rachel Rohanna overcame two bogeys and a double to finish the day at 2-under 70. Rohanna had six birdies in the round, placing her in a tie for 52nd place.

Annika Sorenstam is the only player to shoot 59 in an LPGA Tour event, accomplishing the feat in 2001 at nearby Moon Valley.

Lee matched the nine-hole record of 9 under set by Amy Yang last year in South Korea.

Sei Young Kim and Brittany Lang shot 63.

Day grabs lead at Arnold Palmer: Jason Day felt he was playing better. He finally had a score to show for it Thursday at Bay Hill.

Day one-putted his last seven holes, including a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th to take the lead and two tough par saves at the end for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Among those one shot behind was Adam Scott, which was no surprise. Scott is the hottest player in golf, coming off two straight victories at the Honda Classic and the Cadillac Championship at Doral, and he played bogey-free in benign weather and on a course where no blade of grass seems to be out of place.

Day hasn’t played enough to have serious problems with his game, though he missed the cut at Torrey Pines and finished a combined 35 shots out of the lead in the other three tournaments he entered this year. In the five tournaments since his last victory in September, he hasn’t finished within seven shots of the lead.

“There was no sense of urgency at all for me, really,” Day said. “I just kept on saying, ‘Just make sure you stay patient and things will happen, it will happen.’ I just got to make sure I get the reps under my belt and hope it will work. This is one good round, one good round in the right direction. … So that helps.”

Rory McIlroy made a pair of double bogeys and opened with a 75, leaving him in danger of missing his second straight cut against a full field.

He hit his opening tee shot out-of-bounds and made his other double bogey with a shot into the water on No. 8. McIlroy hit two other shots into the water and escaped with par, and he made par putts of 10 feet, 15 feet and 25 feet.