Wind is typically Ko Olina Golf Club’s primary defense.

Rain took over as the defining element in Wednesday’s first round of the Lotte Championship.

Paula Creamer managed to stay hot through a 45-minute rain delay late in the afternoon to finish off a round of 6-under-par 66 — her lowest score in her last 13 rounds at Ko Olina — and was one shot behind Mi Hyang Lee when she walked off the 18th green.

On the other side of the course, Lee was racing the sun to attempt to finish her round and was in the ninth fairway when the horn signaling the suspension of play due to darkness sounded at 7:04 p.m.

Since the group had started the hole, they had the option to finish and lined up their putts by the light of the scoreboard next to the green.

“I couldn’t see the line or anything, it was too hard,” Lee said after missing a par putt to drop into the tie with Creamer and signing her scorecard under a cellphone flashlight.

Even so, “much better to finish,” she said.

Creamer and Lee went into the evening a step ahead of a deep pack of pursuers with six others still to finish the first round when play resumes this morning.

Five players ended Wednesday play at 5 under with another nine at 4 under.

Lizette Salas, the 2013 runner-up, Beth Allen, Eun-Hee Ji and sponsor invite Su-Yeon Jang finished at 5 under in a morning wave that endured intermittent showers.

The afternoon groups stayed relatively dry early in their rounds, but a sustained downpour late in the afternoon soaked the course and halted play.

Creamer, a two-time winner in Hawaii, was 5 under through 11 holes when the heavy stuff rolled in and found cover behind the man-made waterfall next to the 12th tee during the delay.

“I mean, I’m 30. I’m getting old out here, I was like, ‘Oh, gosh. I gotta warm up a bit,’ ” said Creamer, who won the SBS Open at Turtle Bay in 2007 and the Fields Open at Ko Olina in 2008.

After a par on 12, Creamer birdied the par-5 13th to move to 6 under but gave it back with a bogey on 15. She recovered with a birdie on 17 and a two-putt from across the 18th green gave her a closing par.

Since posting a 66 in the final round in 2013, Creamer’s best rounds at Lotte were 69s in the first two rounds in 2015. After four rounds in the 70s last year, she returned with a new (actually old) putting grip and to unusual conditions at Ko Olina.

“The golf course is playing totally different,” Creamer said. “It’s playing much longer. In the past we’ve been getting tons of roll-off with tee shots. I mean, who would’ve thought we would play the ball lift, clean, and place, and it was the right decision, especially with that downpour today.”

Canadian Alena Sharp made it through the afternoon to join the group at 5 under before Creamer and Lee moved ahead.

Both Creamer and Lee used the week off following the ANA Inspiration to make adjustments to their game in preparation for the trip to Hawaii.

Creamer had used a left-hand low putting grip for the past three years but switched back to a conventional grip after struggling on the greens in her last two tournaments.

“I hit the ball really well at ANA and Kia (Classic) and I just couldn’t make any putts. We talked about how many times I won conventional and how many times have I won left-hand-low, and the difference was astronomical,” she said.

“I mean, I think I’ve won 11 times conventional, one time left-hand-low. … It was one of those things where you obviously have to get in a tournament and be able to do it under pressure.”

After missing the cut in her past two tournaments, Lee focused on building her confidence during the break.

“I’m just too much (worried) about the result,” Lee said after posting her lowest score in five Lotte appearances. “So I didn’t focus that. Maybe just one shot the time.”

So Yeon Ryu, the world’s second-ranked player, was part of the group at 4 under coming off her win at the ANA Inspiration, the season’s first major. A win this week could vault Ryu past Lydia Ko into the top spot. Ko, the world’s top-ranked player for the last 77 weeks, scuffled to a 1-over 73, tied with defending champion Minjee Lee.

The second round will start at 7 a.m. today off the first and 10th tees. The six players who were still on the course Wednesday night will complete their rounds at 7:15.