VIENNA, Ohio (Ticker) -- Kelly Robbins had a feeling an early tee time would prove advantageous Friday at the Squaw Creek Country Club.

Robbins tied the course record with an 8-under-par 64 to grab a share of the lead with Beth Bader after a marathon first round of the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic.

Looking to end a victory drought of more than 3 1/2 years, Robbins made two eagles, six birdies and two bogeys before thunderstorms and threatening weather delayed play for 2 hours, 16 minutes.

Asked how she felt to beat the weather, the 32-year-old Michigan native said, "Really good. They said this might come, it's been a threat all week."

Robbins, who has nine wins in an 11-year career, is tied with Bader, who is winless in her second year on the LPGA Tour. But Bader enjoyed the best round of her brief career, burning Squaw Creek for 10 birdies and two bogeys -- all while playing the four par-5s at 1-over.

"It's the par-5s that have been bothering me the past few weeks," said Bader, a former captain of the Iowa State golf team. "I'm a long hitter and I think I actually put too much effort into them. I think I played it smart though, but I hit it too hard. It's something I really need to figure out. To me, the par-5s should be to my advantage right now."

Danielle Ammaccapane and Korea's Mi Hyun Kim are tied for second after opening-round 65s. It's another two strokes back to 19-year-old Natalie Gulbis and Korean rookie Jung Yeon Lee.

Dorothy Delasin started her quest for an historic "three-peat" with a 3-under 69. She was among the last groups to complete play around 9 p.m. EDT.

The 21-year-old Californian is trying to become the eighth player in LPGA Tour history to post three consecutive wins at the same event. The list includes Britain's Laura Davies, who won the Standard Register PING each year from 1994-97; Sweden's Annika Sorenstam; and Australia's Karrie Webb.

While Bader struggled on the par-5s, Robbins thrived, making eagles at the 479-yard fifth hole and the 486-yard eighth.

"A couple of eagles are unusual, but I won't argue with them," Robbins said. "I think I have (done it before), but it's been a while."

It's also been a while since her last win, which came at the season-opening Healthsouth Inaugural in 1999. Before that, she was one of the most promising American players, combining for four wins in 1997 and 1998.

"Like I said, I have been playing well lately. I just haven't done a lot of really good things to put me into any type of real contention," Robbins said. "So I've just tried to stay as patient as I possibly can, and golf is just that kind of game. People ask what's wrong, why can't you fix it. If I would have known, believe me, I would have fixed it."

A bogey at the par-4 sixth hole was sandwiched between the eagles, but Robbins played the back nine at 3-under, making birdie putts of 10 and 15 feet at the 16th and 17th holes, respectively.

"It hasn't been a bad year. I've had tons of top-20 finishes but not a lot of top-10 finishes," she said. "That's OK. I've been close to breaking through and giving myself more chances. Hopefully, this is one and I can use some experience from the past to have a good weekend."

Bader does not have nearly as much experience to draw upon as she seeks her first career top-25 finish.

"It's my second year, some ups and downs, it's not going where I want it," she admitted. "I need to chill out, relax and have fun with it. The more upset and frustrated you get, the harder it is to play. No point in pouting all day, so I decided to change my attitude a little bit."

It worked. Starting on the back nine, Bader birdied six of her first nine holes around a bogey at No. 13. She had four more birdies and another bogey on the front side, rolling in a five-foot putt at the 134-yard ninth hole to join Robbins at 8-under.

"I feel great," Bader proclaimed. "Everything went really well today. Nothing went really wrong, one mixup on a par-5. I putted phenomenal. I contributed a lot of iron shots, too. ... In the past, I have been too tentative. I can really play out here."

This 54-hole tournament is the final American-based qualifier for the Women's British Open, the last major of the season. The top five scores from eligible players through the first two rounds will earn spots in the field for the event that begins August 8 in Scotland.

Last year, Natascha Fink, Suzanne Strudwick, LaRee Sugg, Australia's Shani Waugh and France's Marie-Josee Rouleau qualified at this stop.

Squaw Creek is a par-72, 6,454-yard layout. The $1 million purse features a $150,000 first prize.