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DALY CITY, Calif. -- Karine Icher and her caddie husband, Fred, evaluated the conditions and course at challenging Lake Merced and decided on a Day 1 strategy: stay short of the pin and putt uphill. The move worked beautifully, and Icher delivered the most consistent performance on a day there werent many in the debut of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. "I think its the key on this course," Icher said. "Its a tough golf course, especially with the wind and temperature. It gets so cold. You try to stay warm and try to catch the right wind and go with it and make some putts." The Frenchwoman birdied four of her first seven holes and finished with a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take the lead, two strokes ahead of Lydia Ko and several others. Afterward, Icher was off to pick up 2-year-old daughter, Lola, from the tours childrens care and head to dinner. The start was delayed two hours because of fog and play was suspended because of darkness with 24 players still on the course. Icher had a bogey-free round and hit all but one green in regulation. Many struggled off the tee or with their putters on speedy, tricky greens on a cool day with plenty of wind and hovering fog not far off the Pacific Ocean. The gallery sang "Happy Birthday" to Ko on her 17th birthday as she started from the first tee, and Ko came through with a 68 on a day she was also named among TIME magazines 100 most influential people. Kos group barely beat the horn for darkness. "I wanted to finish today," she said, acknowledging the birthday song was "kind of embarrassing" but much-appreciated. Morgan Pressel birdied four of her first eight holes and was among the players sitting three strokes back at 69. Mo Martin also shot a 69 after warming up four times before finally hitting her first tee shot following the fog delay. Pressel, whose round began on the back nine, went to 4 under at the turn. Top-ranked Inbee Park opened with a 73 in the $1.8 million event, while second-ranked Suzann Pettersen had a 70 in her first tournament since missing three events with a back injury. On the par-4 11th, a frustrated Pettersen made an 8-foot putt for triple-bogey to fall from 3 under to even par before bouncing back. Michelle Wie, coming off her first win in nearly four years last week in her home state of Hawaii, finished at even-par 72. Those who were still on the course will play resume their rounds Friday morning, so many will have a quick turnaround after a short break. Tee times remained the same. Pressel also had a sizzling first round in Phoenix last month, going 9 under through her first 11 holes in the JTBC Founders Cup and chasing a 59. But Pressel bogeyed two straight holes and wound up with a 7-under 65. On Thursday, she recovered for par on holes 16 and 18 after both tee shots missed the fairway. On the forgiving par-5, 532-yard 18th, Pressels drive ricocheted off a tree and landed in a more favourable lie to the right of the fairway. She nearly put her third shot onto the green but the ball kicked back a couple of feet shy. "It was actually a bit of a struggle out there. My short game kept me in it. I stayed patient," Pressel said. "I stayed tough. Its a tough golf course. I knew nobody was going to go out there and blitz it." Martin played through more fog, and even wondered whether there might be a second delay. The LPGA is back in the Bay Area for the first time since 2010, and San Francisco provided exactly the kind of day that so perfectly represents this region and its unpredictable weather patterns. Martin sported an "L" charm necklace in memory of her grandfather, Lincoln Martin, who died last month at age 102. One of her biggest supporters since they reconnected 10 years ago, he last travelled to a tournament in Rochester, N.Y., last year. He ate vanilla ice cream on his chocolate crisped rice cereal -- with half and half to boot -- for breakfast every morning. He also had several U.S. patents. "It would be really hard to do him justice in a couple sentences, but greatest person Ive ever met," she said. "Changed my life when I got to know him in the last 10 years. Most peaceful person Ive ever met. ... Everybody out here loved him. He followed womens golf and was a fan of everyone." Angela Stanford and Se Ri Pak withdrew Thursday, and neither provided a reason to tournament officials. Russell Bodine Jersey . - A week after a late-game debacle on defence, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed they can finish. Vontae Davis Bills Jersey . Hall joined Bengals teammates for a voluntary workout on Monday. Hes got his mobility back and is on schedule to be ready for the season. CINCINNATI - Bengals cornerback Leon Hall is happy with his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon and expects to be ready for the start of training camp in July. http://www.authenticbillsfanaticfootball...s-bills-jersey/. -- Canadian ski cross star Marielle Thompson accomplished two goals in one race Saturday. Chris Ivory Jersey . The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. Josh Allen Jersey . -- Slugger Jose Abreu, All-Star left-hander Chris Sale and closer Matt Lindstrom are on the disabled list. MADRID, Spain -- Atletico Madrid finally got the better of Spanish rival Barcelona on Wednesday as Kokes early goal guided his team to a 1-0 win and into the Champions League semifinals with a 2-1 aggregate victory. Adrian Lopez filled in for injured striker Diego Costa and created the fifth-minute goal after hitting the post, as the Atletico forward headed an ensuing cross on to Koke to fire home. The boisterous atmosphere at the Vicente Calderon Stadium unsettled Barcelona early on, and Atletico striker David Villa hit the woodwork twice within the opening 20 minutes. Barcelona dug in but produced few tangible scoring chances apart from a pair of first-half misses by Lionel Messi. Atletico, which leads Barcelona by one point in the league, reached the last four of Europes top competition for the first time since 1974. The teams had played four previous games this season which all ended in draws, but Atleticos breakthrough kept Barcelona from the semifinals for the first time in seven seasons. "We just have to keep working hard and stay calm because we still havent won anything," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone, whose team will face either crosstown rival Real Madrid, Chelsea, or Bayern Munich in a two-legged semifinal. Bayern beat Manchester United 3-1 on Wednesday to eliminate the English champions 4-2 overall. Adrian replaced Costa after Atleticos star striker failed to recover from a hamstring injury and the little-used forward immediately made a mark by rocketing a shot off the near post just before the opening goal. Adrian eventually headed the ball back across the area for Koke to score from close range to the delight of the capacity crowd. Atletico, feeding off the roar of its home supporters, had Barcelona consistently on the back foot early on and Villa found the post in the 11th-minute. Barcelona controlled possession but Atletico was dangerous on the counter as Villa fired on the run over goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto but off the crossbar -- the teaams third touch of the woodwork.dddddddddddd Messi had Barcelonas lone scoring chances of the first half as he headed Dani Alves cross past the near post in the 13th before firing wide past the opposite post near the break after Neymars quick footwork created the chance inside the area. Barcelona took control from the restart as Atletico hung back, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois doing well to poke the ball away at Messis feet as he darted through the area and then recover in time to ensure the ball was deflected over goal in the ensuing scramble. "There was a big difference between one team and another early on. We couldnt string together four or five passes like we needed to," Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said. "If we had managed to equalize we might have been able to play the game we wanted." Adrian was taken off to a rousing ovation in the 61st and replaced by Diego Ribas, who scored Atleticos goal in the 1-1 draw in the first leg. Minutes later, Pinto was diving to save from the Brazilian on a counterattack before Atleticos penalty appeals were waved off when Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano tripped up Villa inside the area. Villa and Gabi Fernandez led another counter in the 70th, only for Pinto to kick out Gabis weak shot. Barcelona failed to muster up anything more and Pinto had to make a late save on Villa to keep it close, but the Catalans could not break through the hosts tight defence. "I thought we deserved the draw," Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said, despite his team managing just five attempts on goal to Atleticos nine. "The game got away from us." After walking off the pitch to loud cheers, the Atletico players re-emerged again to celebrate a memorable victory with the nearly 50,000 fans. "The five games (between Atletico and Barcelona this season) all turned out nearly the same way, there werent any major differences except there was a clear winner this time," Martino said. ' ' '