Peiyun Chien shot a 5-under 67 on a rainy Thursday in the transplanted Chevron Championship to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year.

Unable to find a sponsor willing to add to the half-century run at Mission Hills, the tournament — best known as the Dinah Shore — bolted the California desert for the woods of suburban Houston under a six-year deal with Chevron.

The 32-year-old Chien, who is from Taiwan, had six birdies — including four in a five-hole span on Nos. 4-8 — at The Club at Carlton Woods.

She had three bogeys but made up for it with seven birdies and four in her last six holes, including the last two.

Suspended at 3:38 p.m

The weather was clear for most of the morning, but light to heavy rain fell through a big chunk of the afternoon. Play continued through the rain until being suspended at 3:38 p.m. for almost an hour because of thunderstorms in the area.

Australian Stephanie Kyriacou also tied for second after sinking an eagle on the 18th hole. She was among the group who played in the afternoon and said the rain made the greens softer.

“No one really has all that much of an advantage or years and years of experience playing a course and being familiar with it and maybe they like certain places over others,” she said. “So, I think it really puts everyone on the same ground, and I enjoy that.”

Vu, who started on the back nine, had a chance to move into a tie for the lead after hitting an eagle on the eighth hole. But her putt for birdie on her last hole was off and she settled for par to tie for second.

Chevron increased the prize purse to $5.1 million this year after raising it from $3 to $5 million last year.

Eila Galitsky, a 16-year-old amateur, was tied for ninth after a 70. She earned a spot in this tournament and two other majors by winning the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific last month.

The high school sophomore, who started playing golf at age 8, entered the tournament with a goal of finishing as the top-ranked amateur.

There were some unwelcome visitors to the course after lunch when a herd of about 10 deer ran across the 18th green.

The animals soon ran to the edge of the course where they stopped for a bit before being shooed into the nearby woods by a volunteer.

Tied for 23rd

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was tied for 23rd at 71 in her quest to win a major for the first time since 2016 after an up and down round with three birdies and three bogeys. After starting on the back nine, she birdied on the ninth hole to finish under par after shooting bogeys on holes seven and eight.

“To be honest, I struggled the first few times I played around this course, and I was like, I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” she said. “But I feel like when you start playing, even if you don’t hit it the best … you can just manage your way around and not try to make it perfect, just try to shoot the best score.”

Georgia Hall, the winner of the 2018 Women’s British Open who has finished second in two of her last three tournaments, opened with a 70.

American Lexi Thompson had a 74 in a disappointing round. Her performance came a day after she said she was struggling with a sore right wrist after hitting too much at home in preparation for the tournament.

Defending champion Jennifer Kupcho was tied for 37th after a 72.