Michelle Wie overcame a shaky start to surge to the top of the leaderboard on day one of the Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns.

One over par after two holes after thinning a wedge shot on the par-five 2nd, Wie responded in brilliant style with nine birdies to set a course record of 64 and finish eight under par. That gave the 27-year-old a one-shot lead over South Korea’s IK Kim, with the American Lindy Duncan a shot further back and England’s Mel Reid and Jodi Ewart Shadoff part of a five-strong group on five under.

“I felt like I struggled in the last couple of British Opens and made it a point to come over early,” Wie – who is seeking a first victory since the 2014 US Open – told Sky Sports. “I felt the Scottish Open [where she was 19th] was a great way to get into links golf. It’s a different way of playing so it was good to hit a couple of shots I haven’t hit before but I love it, it’s so much fun.”

Wie, who was forced to pull out of last month’s US Open with a neck injury, added: “It makes it a little tougher with the hard lies, it jars it a little bit, but I felt great.”

Reid also took advantage of ideal early conditions as she made seven birdies and two bogeys, with play suspended twice in the afternoon because of heavy rain and the threat of lightning.

“I’m delighted,” Reid said. “You’re not going to get it much tamer than that at Kingsbarns. It’s very important to take advantage of your early tee time so I was very happy to do that today.

“It’s my first season in America and I think I’ve missed five or six cuts by a shot – the difference from that to contending is very, very small out there. There’s been a few times when we’ve had the odd bounce that hasn’t gone for us and it’s been extremely frustrating but I had a good chat with my coach, Kevin Craggs, last week and I want to spend a bit more time with him.

“I said to him: ‘Can you come out with me for the rest of the year please?’ because I get good energy from him, he’s really good with me. We’ve worked together a lot the last few days and it’s really paid off.”

Charley Hull and Laura Davies both reached six under par before late dropped shots meant they had to settle for matching rounds of 68, the 53-year-old Davies having come through a play-off in qualifying on Monday to secure a 37th straight appearance in the event.