Elizabeth Szokol birdied her first five holes and seven of her first nine en route to an 8-under 63 and a share of the first-round lead on Friday at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway, N.J.

Seeking her first solo title on the LPGA Tour, Szokol is joined atop the leaderboard by South Korea's Ilhee Lee, who opened strong with three straight birdies on Nos. 3-5 and finished well with three birdies in a row to close her round at Bay Course at Seaview.

Akie Iwai of Japan sits two shots off the lead in third, finishing with a 6-under 65 after sinking six birdies on the front nine. Eight players are three shots off the lead at 5-under 66 -- Gurleen Kaur, Taiwan's Wei-Ling Hsu, the Netherlands' Dewi Weber, Thailand's Jaravee Boonchant, Germany's Aline Krauter and Polly Mack and Japan's Ayaka

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