Pittsford, N.Y. - Not a late band of rain, a soggy course, nor those pesky orange flags could deter Chella Choi. Not with her father on the bag.

The 22-year-old South Korean, who has never won on the LPGA Tour, shot a 5-under 67 on Friday to take a one-shot lead over Morgan Pressel after the first round of the rain-delayed LPGA Championship.

Brittany Lincicome and Jiyai Shin were tied for third at 69, while Jessica Korda and Se Ri Pak were tied for fifth, another stroke back. Defending champion Shanshan Feng of China had a 2-over 74 as only 14 players broke par in the second major of the year.

Playing in the afternoon long after Pressel had shot 68 to gain the early lead, Choi surged up the leaderboard with a flawless performance on the front nine at rain-soaked Locust Hill Country Club. She made five birdies and no bogeys on her opening nine, averting most of the trouble that lurked at every hole of the waterlogged layout by hitting all 14 fairways and reaching 15 greens in regulation.

"I had a really good driver today," said Choi, whose 54-year-old father, Ji Yeon, has vowed to serve as her caddie until she gets that first victory. "My goal was to hit the fairways."

Playing in light drizzle, Choi reached 6 under with another birdie at the deceptively difficult par-4 10th hole, which yielded only 12 birdies to go with 58 bogeys and seven double bogeys.

The first steady rain of the day put a damper on Choi's final seven holes, but she remained steady, making her only bogey at the par-4 13th hole and parring out.

Choi's best finish in four-plus years on the tour is a tie for second in the Manulife tournament in Canada a year ago. She had three top-five finishes last year and held the third-round lead at the Mobile Bay Classic last month before fading on the final day and finishing in a tie for fourth.

"I want my first win with my father," she said.

English leads St. Jude Classic

Harris English is becoming more comfortable on the PGA Tour every week, and feels right at home on TPC Southwind's Bermuda grass greens.

English shot a 6-under 64 to open a two-stroke lead in the St. Jude Classic at Memphis. Tenn. The 23-year-old former Georgia star had never even had a piece of a lead on the PGA Tour until Thursday when he found himself tied with five others, including Davis Love III, after 18 holes.

He used a hot putter to roll in five birdie putts, holed out from 181 yards for eagle on the par-4 fifth and had only one bogey to finish the second round at 10-under 130.

"It's awesome to be in this position," English said. "I've worked very hard the last couple weeks and couple months to get in this position, and I feel like I'm ready and I feel like I got a lot of good people around me to help me."

Shawn Stefani was second after a 65. Paul Haley II and Scott Stallings each shot 68 to reach 5 under. Love was tied with four others at 4 under after a 70, and defending champion Dustin Johnson also had a 70 to finish at 3 under. Phil Mickelson was 2 under after a 67 in his final tuneup for the U.S. Open next week at Merion in Pennsylvania.

Only four players had rounds of 4 under or better on a near perfect day at TPC Southwind. Doug Labelle II and Scott Verplank were the only other players to go at least 4 under with a 66 apiece.

But English turned in the best round on a course playing very tough despite a temperature around 80 degrees - very rare at this time of year in Memphis. Any wind came out of the north instead of the south. Combined with the small and firm greens, hitting the greens required precise shots. Hitting the fairways also is a must to control shots to the greens.

"Obviously, if he has another two days like the first two, it will be tough to catch him," Johnson said about English. "But I would say I look forward to being bunched throughout on Sunday coming down the stretch."

This is English's second year on tour after finishing up his college career at Georgia in 2011.

The 6-foot-3 English was still an amateur when he won on the Web.com Tour at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational in July 2011, and he moved to the PGA Tour in 2012 and finished 79th on the money list. This year, he already has three top 10s, including his best finish yet with a tie for sixth at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

Love has kept track of English for years. English lives in Sea Island, and Love isn't surprised by how well he is playing.

"His game has really improved, and he's playing well and he's not afraid to shoot low scores," Love said.